On 20 December 2019, Belgian regional investment fund Sogepa (Société Wallonne de Gestion et Participations) decided to put €1.9 million into Air Belgium in exchange for new shares of the airline, according to financial newspaper L’Echo.
In early August, a €4million loan of Sogepa has already been converted into capital.
The recent €1.9million transaction to increase the capital (which is now at €21,937,670) is first a debt of €687,670 converted into shares. The remaining €1,250,000 was released by Sogepa in cash, in exchange for newly issued shares.
In 2018, Air Belgium lost €18.2 million but Sogepa said on Twitter that “SOGEPA and Wallonia are investing in sustainable projects. Air Belgium is doing well, operating on equity with positive cash flow.”
The airline’s CEO Niky Terzakis added to L’Echo: “Sogepa considered that the first results on the new routes to Martinique and Guadeloupe were satisfactory and therefore worth investing directly as a shareholder.“
