Costa Verde Seeks Capital Increase

Chile’s Costa Verde Aeronautica, which has a 25% stake in local airline LAN, says it has decided to pursue a $1bn capital increase through the issuance of 500m shares. Equity analysts in Chile covering LAN believe the capital increase will be used to acquire a 26% stake in the airline held by Axxion and Inversiones Santa Cecilia. The latter are controlled by president-elect Sebastian Piñera. Costa Verde does not say what the funds will be used for. Simultaneously, Axxion’s shareholders have authorized the sale of its 19% stake in LAN, but do not say who the stake will be sold to.