TACAN
19th Jun 2001, 17:41
Don't get much news from this part of the Middle East so have a goosey at this from today's Cyprus Mail :
CY submits new Olympic bid
CYPRUS Airways (CY) yesterday confirmed that it had submitted the final details of its bid to purchase a 51 per cent stake in the flagging Greek carrier Olympic.
The deadline was yesterday afternoon, but the paperwork had already arrived in London at the investment bank handling the deal, Credit Suisse First Boston (CSFB), by the morning.
With Olympic over £100 million in debt, dogged by labour disputes and mismanagement, the Greek government is desperate to sell up. The airline has made a profit just once in the last 20 years and EU regulations prevent Athens from bailing the company out with yet more injections of cash.
The Greek government held back from choosing a buyer in May because three initial bids were deemed unsatisfactory.
CY and two other bidders were asked to improve their offers, before any kind of deal could get off the ground. The CY team, headed by chairman Haris Loizides, is due to fly to London to answer final queries from CSFB on Friday. CY spokesman Tassos Angelis said the revised details related to the operation of Olympic under a CY consortium and to certain financial issues.
Unconfirmed reports claimed that the company, considered a frontrunner in the race to win the deal, had failed to pay the £1.8 million deposit to secure its bid in May. There is also thought to be some friction over CY's offer to buy just 51 per cent of the company, given that the Greek government wants to offload a majority shareholding of at least 60 per cent. But Angelis confirmed that the 51 per cent offer had yesterday been re-submitted without change.
CY chairman Haris Loizides wants 30 per cent of Olympic directly controlled by CY and its unidentified consortium partners.
Flight routes would be redefined, and overseas officers merged. Loizides hopes a larger group would be able to negotiate better fuel prices.
TACCY
CY submits new Olympic bid
CYPRUS Airways (CY) yesterday confirmed that it had submitted the final details of its bid to purchase a 51 per cent stake in the flagging Greek carrier Olympic.
The deadline was yesterday afternoon, but the paperwork had already arrived in London at the investment bank handling the deal, Credit Suisse First Boston (CSFB), by the morning.
With Olympic over £100 million in debt, dogged by labour disputes and mismanagement, the Greek government is desperate to sell up. The airline has made a profit just once in the last 20 years and EU regulations prevent Athens from bailing the company out with yet more injections of cash.
The Greek government held back from choosing a buyer in May because three initial bids were deemed unsatisfactory.
CY and two other bidders were asked to improve their offers, before any kind of deal could get off the ground. The CY team, headed by chairman Haris Loizides, is due to fly to London to answer final queries from CSFB on Friday. CY spokesman Tassos Angelis said the revised details related to the operation of Olympic under a CY consortium and to certain financial issues.
Unconfirmed reports claimed that the company, considered a frontrunner in the race to win the deal, had failed to pay the £1.8 million deposit to secure its bid in May. There is also thought to be some friction over CY's offer to buy just 51 per cent of the company, given that the Greek government wants to offload a majority shareholding of at least 60 per cent. But Angelis confirmed that the 51 per cent offer had yesterday been re-submitted without change.
CY chairman Haris Loizides wants 30 per cent of Olympic directly controlled by CY and its unidentified consortium partners.
Flight routes would be redefined, and overseas officers merged. Loizides hopes a larger group would be able to negotiate better fuel prices.
TACCY