Qantas takeover bid

[KeithMEL]

http://www.theage.com.au/news/busine...390116470.html

Qantas takeover deal blocked
May 6, 2007 - 4:05PM

The Takeovers Panel has effectively blocked the private equity consortium's takeover bid for Qantas, putting an end to the $11.1 billion deal.

The takeovers umpire has refused to look at the matter after the Airline Partners Australia (APA) consortium asked it to allow a late acceptance for the offer, which would have let the bid proceed to the next stage.

...

[KeithMEL]

After a 4 day circus, the bid is officially dead for now:

http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au...46-601,00.html

We're on right path: Qantas boss

Steve Creedy, Aviation writer
May 09, 2007


QANTAS chief executive Geoff Dixon vowed last night to accelerate plans to revitalise the national carrier after Airline Partners Australia finally drove a stake through the heart of its $11.1billion bid.

Mr Dixon said he intended to stay at the helm of Qantas and believed that the takeover, although it had failed, had endorsed the strength of management's existing plans and strategies.

News that APA had abandoned its latest attempt to resurrect its bid for Qantas, failed to produce the crash in the airline's shares that had been predicted by the bidders and chairman Margaret Jackson.

...

[KeithMEL]

Chairman Margaret Jackson has announced her retirement:
http://www.theage.com.au/news/busine...995327961.html

[token01]

as soon as the bid failed the writing was on the cards for her dont u rekon keith

[KeithMEL]

It was more the way she conducted herself. The comment that anyone who opposes the bid had a "mental problem" with how the market works ruffled quite a few feathers.

[KeithMEL]

James Packer has also announced his resignation from the Board:
http://www.theage.com.au/news/busine...995382212.html

Also indicated that CEO Geoff Dixon will stay on till at least July 2009.

[Greatfox]

whoops. I'm eating my words now, oh well at least it's staying Australian owned, being an aussie I do have a slight allegiance to it I spose

[KeithMEL]

Bumping up a v old thread , and by way of a finale...

They say that every cloud has a silver lining. From my point of view, even with the current economic meltdown aside - I was quite sceptical of the takeover bid from the start, a deal that leaves the airline with a massive debt and result in a hollowing out of assets can't be a good thing.

Anyway if this isn't indication of a MASSIVE conflict of interest I don't know what is...

http://www.news.com.au/travel/story/...014090,00.html

RETIRING Qantas boss Geoff Dixon has admitted he is relieved that a private-equity takeover of the airline failed last year, despite strongly backing it at the time.

The issue was "clouded by emotion" because Qantas board members and management stood to make huge personal gains from the $11 billion deal, Mr Dixon told The Sunday Telegraph.

He had vowed to devote his $70 million cut to creating a charitable foundation.

Qantas would be in severe financial difficulty if the takeover by Airline Partners Australia had succeeded, because a key member of the consortium, Allco Finance Group, collapsed on November 4 with debts of more than $1.1 billion.

...

"The real issue I'd never repeat was having the management - myself and the management - involved in it.

"The real Achilles heel was that it got very, very emotional - principally because I and the senior management team were going to earn tens of millions of dollars as part of it.

IIRC I read somewhere that Geoff Dixon stood to make $130 million from the deal, way more than the $70 million that he pledged to donate to charity.

[SQalMundo]

Does the sale of QANTAS mean anything for Singapore Airlines?

[Kiwi]

Does the sale of QANTAS mean anything for Singapore Airlines?

No. It did not proceed.