Mexicana changes hands

[malagajohn]

Mexicana de Aviacion has new owners . Following a failry strictly controlled tender process, Cintra , the Mexican government holding company has sold 100% of the shares in the airline to hotel owners Grupo Posadas

Posadas will take control on 16th December

No acceptable bid was received for Aeromexico and Cintra will decide on future strategy for this airline in the New Year

http://www.americaeconomia.com/PLT_WRITE-PAGE~SessionId~~Language~0~Modality~0~Section~1~Content~2355 7~NamePage~NoticiasArti~DateView~~Style~15389.htm

http://www2.eluniversal.com.mx/pls/impreso/noticia.html?id_nota=318479&tabla=notas

[Panama Jack]

Any speculation on what this will mean for the Mexican airline industry??? Are the current incarnations of Mexicana and AeroMexico self-sustainable and profitable?

I feel sorry for the employees who go through these types of evolutions-- they are almost trying times.

[malagajohn]

I would say that both Mexicana and Aeromexico are profitable on an operational basis - Posadas has probably bought Mexicana on the cheap but it inherits the debt and the lease payments on aircraft that have to be paid

Low cost airlines are just breaking into the market but both Mexicana and Aeromexico have been able to recover from the financial crisis , which brought about the birth of Cintra in the early nineties

Globalia , the owners of Spanish airline Air Europa , were interrested in Aeromexico but their Mexican partner got cold feet and pulled out - I wouldn't be surprised if they are trying to do some deal behind the scenes with the same or another partner

Foreign owned companies cannot hold a majority in a Mexican airline, so this has meant that some of the big industry players have stayed on the sidelines