Air France-KLM and CMA CGM heading for divorce – 01/16/2024 at 09:04

The end of the air freight partnership, the exit from the board of directors and undoubtedly from the capital: less than two years after the publication of the ban, the divorce between Air France-KLM and CMA CGM is taking place.

Officially on Tuesday morning in two press releases with similar terms, the end of the contract between the Franco-Dutch airline group and the owner of the Marseille ship was “justified by the restrictive regulatory environment in certain important markets (which) does not allow the cooperation to function optimally.”

When this “strategic partnership” was announced, on May 18, 2022, the tie-up between logisticians with pockets full of covid-19, strained by freight rate hikes, and closed borders during the airline group seemed to be in line. Epidemic

In addition to the participation of the group led by Rodolphe Sade in the capital of Air France-KLM, during the second recapitalization of the company, the agreements provided for joint operations by the two companies of all-cargo aircraft, up to 9% of their respective companies.

But in their press release on Tuesday, Air France-KLM and CMA CGM announced their decision to “terminate existing agreements on March 31, 2024”, from which date “each group will operate independently”.

“Both groups are committed to working collaboratively, so that cargo customers can continue to benefit from their respective networks,” they assured.

But it is indeed a clear divorce that the two companies are moving towards, as “the parties have agreed that CMA CGM will leave the board of directors of Air France-KLM on March 31, 2024”. Rodolphe Saade’s entry into the Board was ratified at the General Assembly at the end of May 2022.

CMA CGM is currently the third shareholder of Air France-KLM after the French State (28.6%) and the Dutch State (9.3%).

The 2022 agreement stipulated that CMA CGM would remain in the capital until at least June 15, 2025 and could not divest more than half of its shares before June 15, 2028. A total exit of the ship owner from the airline group is now possible from February 28, 2025, according to a press release on Tuesday.