Monarch Airlines Sold to Greybull Capital

   By Maria Armental 
 

Private-equity investment group Greybull Capital LLP has bought a 90% stake in Monarch Airlines, a British independent travel group, Monarch announced Friday.

Monarch's defined pension trust will retain the remaining 10% ownership.

Under the deal, Greybull would invest about 125 million British pounds ($201 million) in Monarch along with an additional GBP50 million capital commitment, with contributions from Monarch Holdings Ltd.'s prior shareholders, largely the Swiss-Italian billionaire Mantegazza family.

Factored in are a series of concessions Monarch employees agreed to last month to allow the company to restructure, including pay cuts of up to 30% and about 700 jobs eliminated.

Under the deal, Monarch will end long-haul and charter flying by April and focus on short-haul European leisure routes.

The company is also to stop serving East Midlands Airport by next summer.

Monarch officials said it would reduce its fleet from 42 aircraft to 34 but said they intended to follow through with an order for 30 Boeing 737 Max Jets to be delivered between 2018 and 2020.

Write to Maria Armental at [e-mail]

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