Qatar Making a Move on BA/IAG?

[msbbarratt]

According to Qatar Airways Raises Stake in IAG - WSJ (http://www.wsj.com/articles/qatar-airways-raises-stake-in-iag-1463500862), Qatar has taken a 15% stake in BA / IAG. They'll be able to get a seat on the board with that stake, and if they increase their holding further they'd be pretty dominant in deciding how IAG is run.

Are we about to see one of the ME3 breaking out of the Middle East and heading for world domination? Might they start casting their nets towards acquiring an operation in the Far East and the Americas too? They'd circle the globe then.

Anyone fancy a mega-airline operating on their patch?

[Flying Clog]

No thanks.

[Trash 'n' Navs]

If it improves service on the individual OpCo's of IAG, then yes.

[Trinity 09L]

They own 20% of Heathrow Airport Ltd, so that may give them a 20% discount on fees paid by any airline they own. That will be a debt repayment therefore no tax:ouch:

[clipstone1]

Qatar wouldnt be the first, look at all the shareholdings Etihad has now, 29% of Air Berlin, 40% of Air Seychelles, 10% virgin Australia, 49% Alitalia, 49% Jat/AirSerbia, 33% Darwin Air.

[racedo]

Wouldn't worry as quickest way to become a Millionaire is to be a Billionaire and start investing in Airlines.

ME states have oil price income drying up and will soon need all the cash they can get at same times as Airlines are not paying dividends.

[crewmeal]

Wouldn't our beloved leaders in Brussels have something to say about this? I'm sure Sir RB would cry foul as well.

[rutankrd]

Why EU and indeed UK foreign ownership rules are pretty lax by global standards

Qatar can legally buy 49 % of IAG if they want and they already are at % requiring public declaration.

So soon we could easily have IAG 49% Qatari and balance Anglo Spanish, virgin 49% US owned.

Tui German and similarly Thomas Cook. Monarch owned by an investment fund and if Brexit happened Easy looking for a new home

Pretty bleak from the UK PLC perspective !

[davidjohnson6]

IAG is listed on the Madrid stock exchange so Spanish takeover rules will apply.
That said, there is presumably a rule which requires any company buying more than a certain proportion of a Madrid listed company's shares to issue a full takeover bid. For companies listed in London the cap is 29.9999 %. The result is to prevent a (potentially) hostile bidder or competitor having too much influence while shareholders remain powerless. If a full takeover occurs, IAG would lose traffic rights, thus destroying the company.

Qatar probably want a sizeable minority stake, 1 or more seats on the board and capacity to influence IAG for the future. Anyone who thinks 1 or 2 Qatari seats on the board will have no change to BA or Iberia is fooling themself. My concern would be that IAG de-emphasises direct routes from Asia to London or Madrid, pushing more traffic through Doha

[Buster the Bear]

Much easier to gain access to the American market via IAG code shares, than the Qataris battling the USA protectionism.

[Heathrow Harry]

I could see an Emirates/Qantas type arrangement with BA coming off Australia & New Zealand destinations .....................

[PAXboy]

As far as I can see, Qantas saw the writing on the wall and jumped early. The pendulum cannot be stopped.

[Cyrano]

They own 20% of Heathrow Airport Ltd, so that may give them a 20% discount on fees paid by any airline they own.

Er... "I own x% of a company so I get an x% discount on anything I owe the company"? :cool: Can you help me understand this calculation?

[Heathrow Harry]

I think he/she thinks that if they pay £100 to LHR as fees they get £20 back in dividend - but that is without the operating costs, corpation tax and whatever the dividend policy of LHR happens to be.....................

[nguba]

There must be some unease at IAG as they clearly have no idea what Qatar's ultimate intentions are.

Having a very vocal shareholder with a large minority stake can be troublesome and a big distraction. See the problems easyJet have had with Stelios.

[Trinity 09L]

Cyrano
It is called creative accounting. HAL is debt laden and is a dividend business with little capital growth other than 3rd runway expansion with its external infrastructure paid by other's. Qatar recently paid 50£/$ for one slot so money no object.

[Guest 112233]

Buster:

It is not about gaining Market Access, Its about totally erasing the the commercial challenge to your investment. (Buy it! now pay later )

Think of the intellectual ,commercial and intrinsic functional knowledge base and associated management structure established perhaps over decades; that you can slowly vaporise to your companies commercial advantage -

Fly CAT III (never cheaper to the middle of where ???? ) and watch your strategic strangle hold on travel on the western tip of Europe, to say the middle of former soviet Asia and beyond, provide an established source of income over the next 30 years or so.

Its a long game - if you have the backing of Government national wealth funds or massive commercial banks.

[Bagso]

Why is Qatari ownership of IAG a bad thing

But Spanish /Qatari control of Heathrow and a possible taxpayer exposure of £12bn to £18bn a good thing ?

[racedo]

It is called creative accounting. HAL is debt laden and is a dividend business with little capital growth other than 3rd runway expansion with its external infrastructure paid by other's. Qatar recently paid 50£/$ for one slot so money no object.

So lets see IF there existed a country who put billions into UK. In return UK becames its bitch and started wars and conflict in areas that said country wanted to control. How likely would this other ficticious country influence Govt to decide on an airport in which it had a significant stake.

[Heathrow Harry]

didn't think the Americans had a position on LHR expansion TBH.................

[EI-A330-300]

QR chief speaking about holding in IAG. More less saying they are happy with 15% and won't increase, will no seek board seat and it's more co-operation in areas such as fleet purchases and not financial related.

Appears they will turn attention to an Italian carrier

Qatar Air Content With IAG Stake, Plans Major Italian Push - Bloomberg (http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-06-03/qatar-air-content-with-iag-stake-plans-meridiana-transformation)

[EI-A330-300]

They have increased their stake to 20%...

[HZ123]

Well it is an International Airlines Group!

[Heathrow Harry]

I'd quite like ot see Mr Al-baker in charge...........................

[racedo]

Qatar need something.