Things are fine and dandy between LINK and SAA-expecting that to be the status quo for a long time to come.
Comair are also looking to buy BP- which they wont- they will not buy SAX either. Their strategy is always to show a very keen interest- right up to the point of doing a due diligence. Once they have all the inside gen they put in a ridiculous bid and walk away with all the info. Bottom line is that ol uncle Dave is just too tight to splash the cash! Its just a grand info gathering exercise.
SAA worried of SAX being sold- not at all, they are in the same position as Link are in- as most of their core business is corporate, an inordinate amount of their regular traffic are voyager members- a database they do not own- SAA does. Considering 90% of their profit comes from 2 routes, its not a far stretch to imagine SAA making a plan there (SAA also does all the revenue accounting) so probably not an opportunity any sane airline would make in a hurry.
Comair also got out of turboprops in the late 90’s in a deal where they sold all of their route rights to SAX (for GBE and SZK)– effectively ensuring a revenue stream for the following 5 years with no operational outlay- clever chaps! I believe that deal came to an end recently so perhaps they want to make sure they weren’t crooked along the way!!
Nothing like a bit of post deal confirmation!! These guys will try anything!..you gotta love it!
