voyager1970 » 25 ноя 2006, 08:55
On June 8, 2006, an auction of Varig's assets (minus its debts) was held in Rio de Janeiro. The first round of bids, with a minimum amount of USD 860 million, ended with no bids. On the second round, which had no minimum bid limit, a group of Varig employees under the name NV Participações placed the only bid, offering USD 449 million for the airline. Since the amount was well below the minimum bid, the decision to sell the airline fell upon bankruptcy judge Luiz Roberto Ayoub. The next day, the bankruptcy judge issued an injunction forcing the airline to stop operating their fleet and to return the active jets to the owners by June 16. The order also called for Varig to return planes not in active use by July 1st.
As of June 20, 2006, the Brazilian judge approved the sale to TGV, the consortium representing the airline workers. However, by June 21 Varig had cancelled 180 of its 356 flights. The airline officially announced these flights would be cancelled thru June 28. Also, a US Bankruptcy judge had allowed the airline to continue flying 16 leased planes until June 21. If the company ceases to exist before the World Cup in Germany is over, the government and other airlines are looking into providing transport for the Brazilian team and the fans back to Brazil. Since TGV did not meet the first deposit for US$75 million on Friday, June 23, the Brazilian judge annulled the auction.
On Monday, June 26, VarigLog (previously bought by Volo and a US investment fund Matlin Patterson) made a bid for $500 million, including an immediate $20 million payment for which $3 million were paid the same Monday to keep the company afloat.
On July 20, 2006 Varig was finally sold to Volo for $24 million. Volo will not inherit Varig's previous debt but will have to complete several financial reforms in order to bring the airline up again. The "old Varig" and its debts will be acquired by Nordeste Linhas Aereas Regionais. The next day the new Varig cancelled all its flights except for Rio de Janeiro-São Paulo flights. The airline reported it needs more time to bring additional planes into service and all flights are cancelled until further notice.
On July 28, 2006 Varig announced they were cutting 60% of their staff. Varig layed off 5,500 of the 9,485 jobs, with a remaining workforce of only 3,985.
On August 23, 2006 Varig announced plans to lease 50 new Embraer E-190/195 aircraft under the BNDES Bank in Brazil. Varig also claims it is negociating with aircraft manufacturers Boeing and Airbus.
On September 13, 2006 Varig announced its intentions to resume more international flights in two stages, when given authorization by federal aviation authorities. In the first stage, Varig plans to resume flights to Mexico, Peru, and England within 180 days. In the second stage, flights to Chile, United States, and Portugal are expected.
Carpe Diem
"He who controls the present, controls the past. He who controls the past, controls the future."
-- George Orwell