There is enormous risk in buying shares now. The current price is $5.29. If Unions talked their members into buying shares and potentially mortguaging thier home etc to buy shares to potentially stop a takeover, then inevitably the share price would plummet if the deal went through. Leading to massive losses for staff.
The private consortium is not interested in staff raising enough capital for a seat at their table as a partner in the buyout. The whole idea is to drive down staff costs and that would be inconsistent with having a staff member on the new board.
[B]"QANTAS unions meet tomorrow to forge a united front amid growing concerns the Macquarie Bank consortium's $11 billion takeover of the national airline will mean job losses.
Almost a dozen unions representing workers, including those covering pilots, flight attendants, engineers and baggage handlers, will meet on a teleconference to discuss their strategy amid growing uncertainty among Qantas's 35,000-strong workforce.
The Australian Workers Union's secretary, Bill Shorten, said the market valued the deal at less than the $11.1 billion price tag to be paid by the Airline Partners Australia private equity consortium. But he said it remained unclear how the private equity players, led by Macquarie Bank and Texas Pacific Group, would seek to generate returns.
"There is lack of detail … the case for this private equity deal is not clear," Mr Shorten said yesterday. "We want them to tell us what it means for jobs, what it means for regional air routes and what it means for consumers."
Unions have had little joy in their attempts to talk to Qantas's proposed new owners. Mr Shorten described informal talks with the consortium as "tightlipped" and the Australian and International Pilots Association attempted last week to talk to the consortium but is still waiting for a reply.
"This sort of deal is not going to be good news. Private equity is there for a reason - the history of these things is that employees tend to be burned," the association's general manager, Peter Somerville, said yesterday.
Unions have had combative relationships with Qantas management as chief executive Geoff Dixon and his team have sought to vigorously rein in costs.
Tomorrow's meeting, organised by the ACTU, marks the latest development in attempts to foster cross-union co-operation in dealings with Qantas, amid heightened fears of further pressure on wages as a result of the deal.
Mr Shorten stopped short of suggesting the unions might resort to industrial unrest but he admitted "there is a lot of water to go under this deal yet".
Shares in Qantas closed up 1c at $5.29 on Friday, still almost 6 per cent less than the consortium's offer price of $5.60."