What seemed like just a rumor seems to be coming true and Azul will actually buy Gol. According to an article in Revista Oeste, which heard sources from Azul, the deal would be practically closed. With more than US$20 billion in debt, Gol went into judicial recovery in the United States at the beginning of the year, and Azul never hid its interest in acquiring its rival.
“Azul’s management already considers the purchase of Gol a fait accompli. High-ranking sources informed the column that the two airlines will become a single company in the coming weeks”, says an excerpt from the report.
In recent months we have already reported a few times about Azul’s intention to buy Gol. In statements and in a conversation between Melhores Destinos and president Abhi Shah, the speech was always that the company is keeping an eye on the market and possible partnership opportunities.
Last week, the Bloomberg agency had stated that the merger between Azul and Gol would be in advanced negotiations, but the new news given by Revista Oeste is even more shocking, as it states that Azul already takes the purchase of Gol for granted.
Azul even hired an international consultant in March to help with the negotiation. One of the signs of the likely purchase is that Latam recently gave up on purchasing the Boeing 737 planes from Gol that it was interested in – Gol would not have reacted enthusiastically to the purchase request, as the aircraft are some of its most valuable and interesting assets. directly to Azul (which, like the market in general, has also been suffering from the lack of planes).
National market
According to the latest survey, in March this year, Azul took over second place in the domestic flight market, transporting 29.5% of passengers in the country during the period, passing Gol, which had 29%. The largest share was from Latam, with 41%.
With a possible purchase of Gol, Azul would dominate the national air transport sector, remembering that the two companies have different presences in the country. Azul’s air network is recognized for its wide presence in the interior and in medium-sized cities in Brazil, while Gol concentrates its operations mainly on routes between São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro and Brasília.
It is worth mentioning, however, that the negotiation depends on the approval of controllers and market regulatory authorities, such as Anac (National Civil Aviation Agency) and Cade (Administrative Council for Economic Defense).
We contacted Azul and Gol, but they did not give us any feedback on the matter. As soon as they respond, we will bring their considerations here.
