Avianca secures US Court approval for DIP financing package 

Avianca Holdings has announced the approval of the debtor-in-possession (DIP) financing from the US Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York. 

The nearly $2.0bn DIP includes a $1.27bn Tranche A senior secured financing and a $722m Tranche B secured subordinated loan. 

It includes approximately $1.2bn of new funds, which consists of $881m in Tranche A and $336m in Tranche B. 

The company initially announced the DIP financing on 21 September 2020. 

Avianca president and chief executive officer Anko van der Werff said: “With US Court approval to fully access this DIP financing, Avianca has ample liquidity to support our operations as we continue flying and serving customers.  

“As Covid restrictions begin to ease, we are pleased to have safely resumed passenger flights to 21 cities in Colombia and 14 international destinations and look forward to adding more destinations to meet our customers’ travel needs over the coming months.

“We thank our customers for their loyalty, and we remain steadfast in our commitment to connecting people, families and businesses across Latin America through the Chapter 11 process and beyond.”  

Funding is still subject to some conditions that are expected to be fulfilled next week. 

Investment holding company Seabury Securities is serving as the investment bank and financial advisor for Avianca, while Milbank is legal advisor. 

Last year, the company posted revenues of around $4.6bn and served 30.5 million passengers.