If you ever wanted an admission that makes Sunfish's point, its from John Borghetti (again).
General manager warns Qantas shareholders
- by: Rhys Haynes
- From: Herald Sun
- August 31, 2007 12:00AM
John Borghetti told yesterday of the Qantas takeover pressure. Picture: Kristi Miller
Source: Herald Sun
QANTAS chief executive Geoff Dixon was forced to "abandon" his day job while working on the unsuccessful $11 billion takeover of the airline earlier this year.
In a warning to all shareholders and management of public companies that are the subject of private equity buyouts, Qantas executive general manager John Borghetti yesterday revealed the size of the task facing senior Qantas executives.
Airline Partners Australia launched its $5.45 a share bid in December last year and looked to have sealed the Qantas takeover in May, before a key US investor scotched the bid by failing to accept by the deadline.
Mr Borghetti said Mr Dixon and chief financial officer Peter Gregg were among high-level staff who worked on the deal.
"Senior management . . . (including) Geoff, Peter, me . . . a lot of time was taken up with this thing," he told an American Chamber of Commerce lunch.
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"It went about six months. You couldn't get your job done. You had to sort of abandon it.
"You couldn't focus on it."
Mr Borghetti said other senior executives had "carried the company through" the period.