NASSAU, Bahamas--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Kingsland Holdings Limited (“Kingsland”), the largest minority shareholder of Avianca Holdings S.A. (“Avianca”), today issued the following statement in response to recent news of the forcible removal of a passenger by United Airlines on overbooked flight 3411:
“Germán Efromovich seeks to treat Avianca’s minority shareholders like a passenger on an overbooked United flight – offering a choice between inadequate consideration and forcible removal from his seat.”
On February 28, 2017, Kingsland filed a lawsuit in New York State Court challenging the conduct of Avianca’s controlling shareholder Synergy Aerospace Corporation (“Synergy”) and Germán Efromovich with respect to Avianca. Court filings by Synergy on March 27, 2017 concede that it is actively negotiating with United to obtain funds for itself as part of a United-Avianca transaction, just as Kingsland has alleged in its lawsuit.
As a significant shareholder, Kingsland Holdings is deeply committed to the long-term success of Avianca and is pursuing this action to protect the viability of the company and safeguard the interests of all minority shareholders.