SYDNEY (Dow Jones)--Businessmen Solomon Lew and Lindsay Fox said Monday they signed an agreement for Air Partners III Australia LLC to become an equity partner in Tesna Holdings Pty. Ltd.
Tesna was set up by Lew and Fox as a holding company to take over the ailing Ansett Airlines.
"The terms of Air Partners' investment in Ansett are confidential. However, Messrs. Lew and Fox, while sharing management control, will retain majority ownership and will be co-chairmen after Jan. 31," said Lew and Fox in a statement.
Tesna will become the new owner of Ansett from Jan. 31 following the completion of the sale agreement with Ansett administrator Arthur Andersen for Ansett's main trunk routes on all major cities.
The key investors in Air Partners include airline executives David Bonderman and Bill Franke.
Bonderman is currently chairman of Irish airline Ryanair Holdings and a director of Continental Airlines Inc.
Franke was chief executive of America West Airlines from 1993 to August this year.
"The Air Partner team brings to Tesna and Ansett significant and successful airline and aircraft finance experience that includes investments in Continental Airlines, America West Airlines, Ryanair and the aircraft finance company AerFi PLC," said Lew-Fox in a statement.
Lew and Fox said Air Partners will contribute human resources, intellectual and financial capital and an international network of industry relationships to Ansett.
The Air Partners investment is subject to approval by the Foreign Investment Review Board, they said.
Arthur Andersen wasn't immediately available to comment on the Lew-Fox and Air Partners agreement.
A spokeswoman for Fox declined to comment further on the Air Partners agreement, saying "more announcements over the next week or two" were expected.
No further details about the Air Partners minority stake were available, she said.
-By Lilly Vitorovich; Dow Jones Newswires;
61-2-8235-2963;
[email protected]