Air France-KLM is in talks with Apollo Global Management Inc. about a 500 million-euro ($528 million) capital injection that would allow the carrier to repay a chunk of the state aid that helped it survive the Covid crisis.

The funding would see the U.S. private-equity firm provide capital to an Air France affiliate that owns a pool of spare jetliner engines used in the Paris-based carrier’s maintenance operations, according to a statement Friday.

Air France-KLM has flagged plans for a 4 billion-euro capital increase as it seeks to repay debt in line with European Union requirements on state funding. The Apollo accord comes days after the company revealed that shipping giant CMA CGM SA aims to take a 9% stake as part of an air-cargo alliance.

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