Zero bids for troubled Silver Airways at bankruptcy auction
June 9, 2025
Despite marketing itself to over 75 potential acquirers and finance parties, no qualified bids were received for Silver Airways ahead of a bankruptcy auction. Subsequently, the auction, which was due to take place between 28 May and 4 June, was cancelled.
No bidders for Silver Airways
At the beginning of May, Argentum Acquisition, a New York hedge fund with a history of taking on troubled airlines, made a stalking-horse offer for the airline of $5.77 million – a figure other bidders would have to exceed in order to take control of the airline.
Commenting on Argentum’s offer and approval of the bankruptcy auction, Southern District of Florida Judge Peter Russin said:
“It is not lost on the court that the debtors borrowed collectively several hundred million dollars, yet the contemplated asset sale values total at present less than $10 million.”
Between 28 May and 4 June, the Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Florida held an auction in the hopes of getting bids that would come closer to helping recoup the $500 million owed to creditors. According to The Street, not a single bidder stepped up with a higher offer.
Due to the lack of bidders at the auction, the court will now consider approving the sale of the airline’s assets to Argentum for under $6 million. The assets include aircraft and related equipment, ground support infrastructure, airport gate leases, maintenance and operations facilities.
The Florida-based budget carrier had filed for bankruptcy in December 2024 with over $500 million in debt.
At the time, the airline stated it planned to emerge from bankruptcy in 2025 as it said the decision to file for Chapter 11 protection would allow Silver “to secure additional capital and undertake a financial restructuring that will strengthen its position as a competitive airline.”
The airline has continued operating, albeit with a reduced fleet, throughout its bankruptcy process. However, a lack of investors willing to take on its heavy debt led to the airline incurring further losses, including losing its right to fly into Anguilla in the Caribbean and Orlando International over unpaid fees.
What went wrong for Silver Airways?
Operating a fleet of eight ATR 42-600 and ATR 72-600 aircraft, Silver Airways launched in 2011 with the assets of the defunct Gulfstream International Airlines, as a regional carrier connecting Florida, the southeast and the Bahamas.
In 2018, Silver acquired Seaborne Airlines, a San Juan, Puerto Rico-based air carrier flying its De Havilland DHC-6-300 Twin Otter seaplanes between St Thomas and St Croix.
Escalating costs and supply chain issues are widely reported as being behind the carrier’s downfall, with rising fuel, labour and parts costs as a result of post-pandemic inflation causing delays to aircraft maintenance and disrupting operations.
The airline had also failed in its attempts to expand its network beyond Florida and the Caribbean with the addition of flights to Georgia’s Savannah/ Hilton Head international Airport and South Carolina’s Greenville-Spartanburg International Airport.
A loyalty partnership with American Airlines was also ended in March 2024 and the airline lost cargo contracts, including deals with Amazon in 2023 due to it no longer meeting reliability standards.
In its bankruptcy court filing the airline disclosed that it owed nearly $4.5 million to aircraft lessor Azorra, $2.1 million to the Internal Revenue Service in unpaid taxes or fees and multiple unpaid bills at several airports.
While Silver held a niche in the market exclusively operating turboprops on short-haul routes, it operated in typically low-demand markets in which it struggled to make a profit. As such it is unlikely many of its routes will be picked up by other airlines.
