Sale of PenAir assets to Ravn affiliate approved in bankruptcy court

The sale of Alaska regional airline PenAir’s assets to a Ravn Air Group affiliate was approved Friday by a bankruptcy court judge, an attorney in the case said.

The $12.3 million sale to Peninsula Aviation Services, Inc., still needs to be approved by the Federal Aviation Administration and the Department of Transportation, said Michael Markham, an attorney for the bankruptcy trustee.

PenAir filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in August of 2017.

Peninsula Aviation Services made the bid through private equity firm J.F. Lehman & Co., which is an affiliate of Ravn Air Group, according to court filings. That bid happened at a Thursday auction at the Dena’ina Civic and Convention Center in Anchorage.

The process for getting the sale approved by the FAA and DOT could take from 30 to 60 days, Markham said.

The sale sets up Ravn and PenAir to operate as sister companies, Markham said on Thursday. J.F. Lehman will now be the parent company for both.

Ravn Air Group is Alaska’s largest regional airline, according to its website, and PenAir is one of the biggest regional airlines in the state.

PenAir’s creditors that were owed money before the company filed for bankruptcy protection are “likely going to get nothing,” Markham said on Friday.

The post-bankruptcy creditors “are likely going to get a nice distribution,” he said. That group could be owed anywhere from $7 million to $11 million, he said, though “it’s a little bit of a wild card.”

Reprinted from Anchorage Daily News, Annie Zak author.