VdA advises Menzies Aviation on the acquisition of Groundforce
Vieira de Almeida (VdA) has provided legal counsel to the global scale assistance company Menzies Aviation, through its Portuguese subsidiary Menzies Aviation – Portugal – Serviços de Carga, Unipessoal, in the subscription of a majority stake (50.1%) in SPdH – Serviços Portugueses de Handling, also known as Groundforce, the leading ground handling company in Portugal.
On April 4, 2023, Menzies, TAP, and Groundforce entered into a subscription agreement regarding Groundforce, which was declared insolvent in August 2021. Under this agreement, the terms and conditions of Menzies’ investment in Groundforce were agreed upon as part of an insolvency plan to be submitted within the insolvency proceedings, aiming at the recovery and revitalization of Groundforce.
The insolvency plan, presented and approved at a creditors’ meeting, envisages an initial investment by Menzies in Groundforce of approximately €12.5 million, with an additional investment in CAPEX of €25.6 million between 2024 and 2027. The insolvency plan was approved by the competent court on May 10, 2024, and became final on June 3, 2024.
This transaction marks Menzies’ entry into the Portuguese market, holding a 65% market share and operating in airports in Lisbon, Porto, Faro, Madeira, and Porto Santo, with over 3,000 employees.
The VdA team involved in this operation spans across the Corporate and M&A, Restructuring & Insolvency, Competition & EU, and Labor practice areas, comprising partners Américo Oliveira Fragoso, Paulo Trindade Costa and Ricardo Bordalo Junqueiro (photographed in order), as well as senior counsel Teresa Pitôrra, Cláudia Coutinho da Costa, José Fernando Barata, and Madalena Salazar Leite.
