Delta, Gol boost air accord in $446 mln stock, debt deal

(Adds comment from Gol executive, detail on new debt, share price)

By Alberto Alerigi

SAO PAULO, July 10 (Reuters) - U.S. carrier Delta Air Lines Inc will expand its alliance with Brazil's Gol Linhas Aereas Intelligentes SA under a $446 million stock and loan agreement, Gol said on Friday in a statement.

Under the accord, Gol's controlling shareholder, Brazilian investment fund FIP Volluto, will buy up to $90 million and Delta up to $56 million of new Gol preferred stock. Delta will also guarantee third-party loans to Gol of up to $300 million, the statement said.

Gol plans to borrow up to $300 million this year, depending on market conditions, Edmar Neto, the company's chief financial officer, told investors on a conference call Friday. The additional stock and debt will bolster the company's cash and liquidity, he added.

Since 2012, Gol has sold stakes to Delta and Air France-KLM SA as it raised funds to add foreign routes and invest in a turnaround strategy after years of heavy losses.

Gol preferred shares have fallen more than 20 percent in the last two weeks and are down more than 50 percent this year.

Delta now owns 2.9 percent of Gol's non-voting preferred shares and Air France-KLM owns 1.5 percent, according to the Gol Web site. Volluto owns 100 percent of Gol common, voting shares and 61.2 percent of its preferred stock.

It was not immediately clear how Delta's and Volluto's new investments would affect the size of their respective preferred stakes.

Gol's problems have been exacerbated by a decline in the value of Brazil's currency the real. A weaker real has driven up the cost of aircraft leases and other foreign debt.

In the first quarter, Gol recorded a loss of 627.7 million reais ($199 million). The result was seven times larger than a year earlier and the company's 13th-straight negative quarter.

Delta and Gol also agreed to extend the terms of their strategic and commercial operating agreements, the statement said.

($1 = 3.1584 Brazilian reais) (Writing and additional reporting by Jeb Blount; Editing by Andrew Hay and Christian Plumb)