07-114 ASIC technical relief facilitates final stages of Qantas bid
Thursday 3 May 2007
ASIC last night provided relief to allow the bid by Airline Partners Australia Limited for Qantas Airways Limited to proceed in line with market expectations about the way valid acceptances into the bid can be made.
The relief was needed because of the recent decision in Australian Pipeline Limited v Alinta Limited, which casts doubt on the time at which acceptances must be made to be valid. The bid documents used in the Qantas offer were drafted before that court decision was handed down.
In ASIC’s view, if no relief were granted, there would be a substantial risk that holders of Qantas shares would not be aware of the implications of the Alinta decision for the timing of their lodgement of valid acceptances. That in turn would mean that in the closing stages of the bid target shareholders may not be fully informed about how validly to accept the bid in time.
The relief granted enables the bid to be concluded in line with statements made throughout the course of the bid, and avoids any unintended results of the Alinta decision. It does this by treating an acceptance form received in accordance with the terms of the offer before the close of the bid as a valid acceptance under the bid even if it has not been input into the CHESS system.