Icelandic pension fund Gildi has become the largest shareholder in Icelandair Group following the company’s public share offering that took place last week. RÚV reports that the 20 largest shareholders hold a smaller percentage of shares in the company than before the offering. Iceland’s two state-owned banks, Íslandsbanki and Landsbankinn, together have an 11% share in the company.
Though it has received government support in various forms since the COVID-19 pandemic began, the privately-owned airline has struggled, cancelling nearly three-quarters of its September flights in order to minimise losses. The public share offering was a key facet of Icelandair’s financial restructuring, one that had to be successful in order to receive to a state guarantee of 90% for a line of credit for up to $120 million (about ISK 16.5 billion).
The largest shareholder, Gildi now holds a 6.61% share in the company, followed closely by Íslandsbanki, with 6.55%. One division of the State Employees’ Pension Fund (Lífeyrissjóður starfsmanna ríkisins A-deild) is in third place with 6.24%.
See Also: FSA Iceland Investigates Pension Funds’ Decisionmaking Following Icelandair Stock Offering
Share ownership is more spread out than before the public stock offering. Beforehand, the company’s 20 largest shareholders held 74% of its shares – now they own a cumulative 54%. Though the companies that are the largest shareholders remain largely the same, their position on the list has changed. The VR Union Pension Fun (Lífeyrissjóður verzlunarmanna) dropped from first to sixth place, while Gildi went from third to first, though its share percentage nevertheless decreased.
