The world’s largest travel group Tui has repaid the financial aid from the German Economic Stabilization Fund (WSF) from the Corona crisis as planned. Thanks to the income from the latest capital increase, Tui transferred 750 million euros to the WSF in a final tranche on Friday.
The sum also includes interest and compensation for the state fund waiving the right to exchange the aid for Tui shares. According to its own statements, the group has paid the WSF around 381 million euros for the state aid granted in the crisis since 2020.
The WSF and the state-owned development bank KfW had saved Tui from going under after the business slump as a result of the corona pandemic with capital injections, bonds and credit lines totaling around 4.3 billion euros. The WSF accounted for 1.2 billion of these. Tui had already repaid part of the sum last year. Now the last part of the WSF help followed. Tui wants to keep the KfW credit line for the time being at a reduced level of 1.1 billion euros.
Fresh money from shareholders
A few days ago, the travel group raised around 1.8 billion euros in fresh money from shareholders with the help of a capital increase. According to Tui, the proceeds are used to repay state aid as well as bank loans.
From the point of view of the WSF, the group has now left its pandemic-related problems behind. “This brings the stabilization of Tui AG through the Economic Stabilization Fund to a successful end,” said Eva Grunwald, Managing Director of the Federal Finance Agency.
The board around Tui boss Sebastian Ebel sees the group, thanks to the latest steps and the increased demand for travel, in a stronger condition to further expand the holiday business. “We are thus reducing our debt and interest costs and are already expecting a better net debt ratio for the current financial year than in 2019,” said Chief Financial Officer Mathias Kiep.