The Guvnor
31st Dec 2000, 14:01
Look out for an offer from Babs and her team early in the new year...
Given the huge valuation put on easyJet's IPO for a company which is really no different to Go materially; Stelios has to be laughing all the way to the bank ... and his new shareholders will be starting to ask questions....
From today's Sunday Times:
<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" size="2">BA's Go auction fails to gain
height
David Parsley
THE AUCTION to buy Go,
British Airways' low-cost
subsidiary, has gone flat. BA
fears it may get just £100m for
the Stansted-based airline.
Rod Eddington, BA's chief
executive, announced his
intention to sell Go earlier this
year. Executives believed the
operation, run by Barbara
Cassani, could fetch up to
£300m. But enthusiasm
among potential buyers has
waned, with the Hinduja
brothers, Easyjet and Iberia,
the Spanish carrier, all thought
to have quit the race.
Easyjet, the recently floated Luton-based airline, is believed to
have offered BA about £200m in shares but the approach was
rebuffed. Ryanair and KLM are thought to be the only trade
buyers left in the auction but BA appears reluctant to sell to
direct competitors.
The only other option at the moment is for BA to demerge Go
and float it. But Eddington is wary of the time this would take.
While Cassani, who has been chief executive of Go since its
launch, was thought to be keen to launch a management
buyout (MBO) backed by venture capital, she has not yet
thrown her hat in the ring. But BA executives are beginning to
think such a move may be the best option.
The Sunday Times revealed Cassani's interest in taking Go
private more than a year ago. She is known to have had offers
from private-equity firms but is still considering her position.
In what almost sounded like an open offer, one BA executive
said: "If Barbara did indicate her willingness to lead an MBO it
would be something the board would take very seriously. But
as yet she has not done so."
Observers believe Cassani is the driving force behind Go's
success. The airline has yet to make a profit, but Cassani is
confident that it will move into the black next year.
One analyst said: "Cassani is a smart cookie. I actually believe
she intended to be running Go as an independent airline when
she first walked through the door. Now it looks as if BA will be
asking her to take it away from them."
</font>
[This message has been edited by The Guvnor (edited 31 December 2000).]
Given the huge valuation put on easyJet's IPO for a company which is really no different to Go materially; Stelios has to be laughing all the way to the bank ... and his new shareholders will be starting to ask questions....
From today's Sunday Times:
<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" size="2">BA's Go auction fails to gain
height
David Parsley
THE AUCTION to buy Go,
British Airways' low-cost
subsidiary, has gone flat. BA
fears it may get just £100m for
the Stansted-based airline.
Rod Eddington, BA's chief
executive, announced his
intention to sell Go earlier this
year. Executives believed the
operation, run by Barbara
Cassani, could fetch up to
£300m. But enthusiasm
among potential buyers has
waned, with the Hinduja
brothers, Easyjet and Iberia,
the Spanish carrier, all thought
to have quit the race.
Easyjet, the recently floated Luton-based airline, is believed to
have offered BA about £200m in shares but the approach was
rebuffed. Ryanair and KLM are thought to be the only trade
buyers left in the auction but BA appears reluctant to sell to
direct competitors.
The only other option at the moment is for BA to demerge Go
and float it. But Eddington is wary of the time this would take.
While Cassani, who has been chief executive of Go since its
launch, was thought to be keen to launch a management
buyout (MBO) backed by venture capital, she has not yet
thrown her hat in the ring. But BA executives are beginning to
think such a move may be the best option.
The Sunday Times revealed Cassani's interest in taking Go
private more than a year ago. She is known to have had offers
from private-equity firms but is still considering her position.
In what almost sounded like an open offer, one BA executive
said: "If Barbara did indicate her willingness to lead an MBO it
would be something the board would take very seriously. But
as yet she has not done so."
Observers believe Cassani is the driving force behind Go's
success. The airline has yet to make a profit, but Cassani is
confident that it will move into the black next year.
One analyst said: "Cassani is a smart cookie. I actually believe
she intended to be running Go as an independent airline when
she first walked through the door. Now it looks as if BA will be
asking her to take it away from them."
</font>
[This message has been edited by The Guvnor (edited 31 December 2000).]