Avianca pilots and a British Virgin Islands-based company have made a last minute bid to buy the Colombian airline, which is on the verge of being transferred to Brazil's Sinergy, the pilots said on Tuesday.

The offer by pilots union ACDAC and Markwood Investments of a USD$47.5 million cash injection into the debt-burdened airline came despite approval two weeks ago by a New York bankruptcy judge of a restructuring plan based on the Sinergy bid.

"The Markwood/ACDAC joint venture proposes to accept the terms, conditions and obligations of the recently confirmed Plan," the partners said in a press statement issued by the pilots in Bogota.

"Markwood and ACDAC are confident that their proposal will better satisfy the requirements of all creditors as well as meet the fiduciary responsibilities of both the company and its existing shareholders," they said.

The bid by Sinergy and OceanAir, a related Brazilian regional airline carrier, has been approved by Avianca's creditors under Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection proceedings in New York.

Sinergy, which operates Brazilian regional carrier OceanAir, says it would inject USD$63 million in cash into Avianca and assume USD$220 million in debt.

Under its offer, Sinergy would buy Colombian conglomerate Valorem's 50 percent stake in Avianca and half of the 50 percent stake held by Colombia's National Federation of Coffee Growers. The federation would hold on to 25 percent of Avianca.

Avianca entered Chapter 11 in March last year after accumulating net losses of USD$600 million since 1998.

The existence of a US subsidiary gave Avianca access to relatively benign US bankruptcy laws that allowed it to keep operating while its owners renegotiated debts and sought a buyer.

(Reuters)