Man Who Saved Second-Oldest Airline Drives It Back to the Brink
- German Efromovich turned Avianca around after 2004 bankruptcy
- Stock, bonds plummeted after Efromovich breached loan terms
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Avianca was a failing airline with 37 outdated planes when German Efromovich purchased it out of bankruptcy in 2004. Over 15 years the Bolivian businessman built it into a regional powerhouse as Latin America’s second-largest carrier.
But for all its success, the Bogota-based company is now back on a rocky foundation. Its stock price is down by almost 75% since it went public in 2011 and its bonds are trading in distressed territory amid concerns it will struggle to refinance debt. Avianca’s first-quarter loss was the biggest since 2015.