Latvian Political Monitor

From@ltvzinas

Andris Kulbergs (AS) on 'airBaltic': We must find a strategic aviation investor in time so that we, as a state that is not particularly good at managing the aviation business, do not have to take on all that risk again.

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From@AndrisKulbergs

@patmalnieksj everything is written by me word for word - the only thing is grammatical and stylistic errors were corrected and instead of country abbreviations, country flags were placed.

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From@AndrisKulbergs

This morning at 7:00 I gave an interview to @LRZinas while being in Lapland at the Arctic Summit, an EU leaders' event. It surprises me that instead of the Latvian public learning about the decisions we are making to strengthen security against Russian threats, my 1:1 discussions with German Chancellor Merz about the EU's new 7-year budget, about the common agreement of Baltic leaders to solve the RailBaltica issue, about Iceland's EU referendum or the general EU position in the Arctic in the fight for natural resources and the new northern sea transport corridor... all that journalists are interested in is Uzulnieks being caught drunk, whether ministers use drugs, and why I hold a glass of beer at a basketball game... I believe you can do better 😉

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From@AndrisKulbergs

My statement on airBaltic Today, airBaltic is initiating financial restructuring in a US court under Chapter 11. This time we are not buying a few more months of life support for the airline. We are beginning to solve problems at their core. It must be admitted that negotiations with bondholders were not progressing. Several investors, who had bought the bonds on the exchange at about 70 percent of their nominal value, were more reliant on airBaltic's liquidation and recovery of pledged assets rather than on restructuring the company. Another loan of up to 257 million euros at an annual rate of 25% was offered. That could provide the company with money for the near term, but would not solve either the previously accumulated debt or the problem of aircraft lease obligations. Therefore, I did not accept this offer as a long-term solution. Chapter 11 is a US court-supervised financial restructuring that allows airBaltic to continue flying while restructuring debts and lease agreements and attracting the financing needed for operations. Simply put, it is a protective shield that gives the company time and legal protection against creditor claims, allowing management to implement a full restructuring plan. This does not yet mean that all of airBaltic's problems are solved. But this is one of the best currently possible solutions to ensure the company's viability and give it the chance to stand on its own feet. For the process, airBaltic has received commitments from financiers to provide 350 million euros in new financing at a 12% rate. International financial market participants such as banks Morgan Stanley, Barclays, and private financiers Hayfin Capital Management, Oaktree Capital, and Strategic Value Partners have expressed readiness to finance. This is a significant and positive signal of trust. At the same time, I have instructed the Ministry of Transport to declassify restricted government documents related to airBaltic, so that the public finally has full information about the decisions made within the company, the use of state money, and the consequences of those decisions. The most important news for passengers is that airBaltic continues operations, the planes continue flying, and purchased tickets remain valid. This is not yet the finish and not a victory statement. But a process that addresses airBaltic's problems at their core has finally begun.

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