Tag: QAN

The bid to takeover Qantas is dead.

D-day is today for the Airline Partners Australia group trying to buy Qantas in that controversial $11.1 billion offer.

The $11.1 billion takeover for Qantas has moved into its last throes with the bidding group, Airline Partners Australia, offering accepting shareholders accelerated payment and refusing to extend to the offer past its closing date of Friday week, March 4.

Qantas will be heading for another embarrassing earnings upgrade after the release of the traffic figures for February and the first seven months of the 2007 financial year.

The Airline Partners Australia consortium bidding for Qantas has decided to get tough with hold-out shareholders, threatening them with the prospect that the airline would cut the value of their shares by increasing debt to return $4 billion to shareholders within a year of taking control of Australia’s biggest airline.

A new player in the Qantas stalemate?

Another week closer to the ending of the $11.1 billion bid for Qantas and we are no closer to knowing its fate.

Another down day for Qantas shares yesterday. They shed 7c over the day to close weaker at $5.09, with turnover of 46.6 million shares.

No wonder Qantas shares tumbled 8c yesterday to $5.16 on more than 70 million shares.

Imagine the Senators doing their homework for the one-day inquiry into the $11.1 billion takeover of Qantas by a group of investors, and the airline’s existing management.

The $11 billion takeover bid for Qantas has won a tick the Federal Government, but there’s no sign of any extra competition being allowed by the Federal Government on some key routes, such as across the Pacific.

Guess what; Qantas has a new major shareholder: admittedly it’s not a direct holding, yet,but as of the close of business Wednesday almost 200 million shares had been accepted into the $5.60 a share Airline Partners Australia offer.

A predictably unanimous recommendation from the independent directors of Qantas to shareholders accept the $5.60 (actually $5.45) a share offer from Airline Partners Australia.

Qantas is becoming a bit of a headache for the intending acquirers and the Federal Government.

Federal parliament resumes this week for 2007 and you can bet that Iraq, water, climate change, industrial relations and the federal election will be on everyone’s lips and press releases.