El Al’s board agrees to government bailout, Calcalist reports

JERUSALEM (Reuters) – The board of Israel’s El Al Airlines has agreed to a bailout package that will likely put the flag carrier back under state ownership, Israeli news website Calcalist reported on Monday.

El Al and controlling shareholder Knafaim Holdings have been in bailout talks with the Finance Ministry since the coronavirus crisis pushed the airline to the verge of bankruptcy.

The ministry has offered to back $250 million in bank loans but said El Al must issue $150 million in shares. The state said it would buy the shares, giving it a majority ownership, if no one else did.

Calcalist reported that after weeks of pushback from within the company, El Al’s board had agreed to the deal.

A spokesman for El Al declined to comment on the report.

(Reporting by Ari Rabinovitch; Editing by Tova Cohen)