British Airways to sell QANTAS stake?
 

http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems...9/s1194407.htm

Qantas has asked for a two-day halt to trade in its shares on the Australian Stock Exchange.

The airline says British Airways wants to sell its 18.25 per cent stake in Qantas.

Qantas says the trading halt will allow the market to absorb the information in an orderly fashion.

Qantas shares closed yesterday at $3.33.

British Airway doesn't just wake up on morning and say - let's sell Qantas.

The deal must already be done. I'm guessing SQ. The shared A380 maintenance and pilot training etc means that the airlines have been talking at high level.

Recently the PR has all been about how WE must stand up against Emirates and Gulf - no tax and free fuel etc.

It also makes sense since GOD and MJ have been camped out at CB very often lately including taking the 3 slots on the Kangaroo route even though it goes against DOTARS policy.

What about Labour's new policy - lift the overseas ownership cap.

Obviously the deals been done behind closed doors.

Double posting - here's the news articles from my concurrent thread (now deleted)

breaking news from the Herald Sun

Here's more from the e*trade website

We live in interesting times it seems!!

You only live twice. Once when
you're born. Once when
you've looked death in the face.

Wed "The Australian" Latest News

BA offloads Qantas stake
September 08, 2004

BRITISH Airways plc today said it had achieved a price of $3.24 per share on the sale of its 18.25 per cent stake in Qantas Airways for $1.09 billion.

Shares in Qantas, which were placed in a trading halt this morning ahead of the news, last traded yesterday at $3.33.

BA's London-based commercial director Martin George said the airline, which would complete the sale of its stake within 48 hours through Citigroup, had concluded it was time to realise its 11-year investment in Qantas.

"We just felt it was the right time," Mr George said. "It's a purely financially governed decision.

"As an airline we need to pay down our debt. We have net debt of STG3.8 billion and we are the most indebted airline in Europe.

"Whilst we have brought down our debt significantly over the last two years we still feel it needs to come down further and the funds raised today will help that."

Mr George said it was yet to be decided just how much of the $1.09 billion, or STG425 million, would be applied to debt reduction.

"But it will help us strengthen our balance sheet for any opportunities that come up in the future," he said.

Asked if BA might be inspired by the recent takeover of Dutch airline KLM by Air France, Mr George said BA, which has a 9 per cent stake in Iberia Lineas of Spain, was looking for consolidation opportunities in Europe.

"When the original (Qantas) investment was made in 1993 many people assumed that consolidation would be global, but now the wise sages in our industry think that the most likely consolidation will be regional consolidation.

"We will be looking at European opportunities."

BA was deterred from consolidating with Qantas by the Commonwealth Qantas Sale Act, which limits foreign holdings in the airline to 49 per cent.

"Ten years ago there was a sense that if that was to change then that might have been an transaction that would have been evaluated, but the focus now is more on regional consolidation," Mr George said.

Qantas has been lobbying the Federal Government to remove the cap, saying it restricts its access to foreign capital and increases its borrowing costs.

But Prime Minister John Howard said last month that the cap would not be removed.

Qantas has been pursuing an alliance with Air New Zealand but the plan has been blocked by competition regulators on both sides of the Tasman and is currently under appeal.

Mr George said BA's joint services agreement with Qantas on the so-called Kangaroo route to Europe won't be affected by the sale of its stake.

"We don't think that agreement is dependent on our having an investment in Qantas," he said.

"It is a very important relationship for us and it's one that we look forward to building upon."

============================================

Yawn

And your point is? What has SQ got to do with BA selling shares in QF?

Yep, every time one of these vermin land in Sydney ( when they are allowed to by QF) they don't pay tax and get free fuel.

What a crock!

halas

Another good example of why to never invest in Airline stocks.

What a crappy return after 10 years compared to the rest of the market.

Halas

Someone just posted a news article above...they received $3.24 per share for over a billion dollars worth. That deal didn't happen this morning did it. It would be a lot of mums and dads. This sort of stuff is planned for months before the market is informed. So who is it? SQ is my best guess, another party for a trade sale such as Air France/KLM or a very large private investor-very large.

The talk about the Emirates and Gulf, fuel and no tax. Where have you been? It's not my PR its Qantas's and it has been getting media over the last few months. Perhaps this is why: To create a scare campaign with the political parties so that they get the outcome they want. There is a lot of strategy and campaigning (and money) involved to get your own way at a Federal level-particularly during an election campaign.

Don't shoot the messenger...and pay attention.

Yawn,

Have to agree after the events of the last 3 years. Nothing seems to happen regarding Qantas without prior planning and an end-game in sight, even if not immediately obvious.

Without wanting to be negative, interesting times ahead for australian aviation again. Maybe ANZ might line up again !!!

Oz2

The 9c difference between the close of business yesterday and their sale price would have been about $90m on that sale :oh: :oh:

Next.......Qantas and SQ will probably announce a Joint venture in a new maintenance facility in Aus. to handle the A380, the real question then will be Queensland or Victoria.

Watch the Government sweeteners then, Qantas will again use the public purse to fund their growth.

AAP

Qantas sale opens door
September 8, 2004 - 4:39PM

Foreign investors are expected to flock to the share register of Qantas Airways after major investor British Airways said it was selling its stake to pay down debt and focus on consolidation opportunities in the European aviation market.

BA, the most indebted airline in Europe, is offloading its 18.25 per cent stake - 336 million shares - raising a minimum of $1.09 billion with the shares underwritten at no less than $3.24 each.

The decision by Europe's second largest airline severs an 11-year-old financial tie but leaves intact a joint services agreement between BA and Qantas on the all-important Kangaroo route between Australia and the UK.

Qantas chief executive Geoff Dixon said the sale would not affect the airline's commercial operations.

"Neither airline now believes the shareholding is necessary for the ongoing conduct of that relationship," he said.

Qantas shares were placed in a trading halt until Friday when the share sale, which is being underwritten by Citigroup, is expected to be completed. Qantas last traded at $3.33 Tuesday.

Beyond that, Qantas said it is now preparing for consolidation in the Asia Pacific aviation sector.

"The tyranny of distance between Australia and the United Kingdom rules out such consolidation, but not cooperation between Qantas and British Airways," Mr Dixon said.

"We will, however, seek to further strengthen our commercial position to take us to a leading role in any suitable consolidation opportunities that may arise in the Asia Pacific region."

Qantas is pursuing market share and opportunities in India, Vietnam and Thailand and an alliance with Air New Zealand.

The alliance plan has been blocked by competition watchdogs on both sides of the Tasman with the airlines currently appealing against these rulings.

Meanwhile, speculation mounted that rival Singapore Airlines could be interested in buying BA's stake.

But Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation senior consultant Ian Thomas said Qantas would probably prefer to see more benign foreign shareholders enter its books rather than another airline.

Possible airline suitors include Singapore Airlines, one of the three major Chinese airlines or the recently merged KLM/Air France which is looking for opportunities in the southern hemisphere.

"There is a possibility of some sort of equity relationship but whether it is something that Qantas would go into willingly or whether it prefers to keep its shareholdings spread amongst a range of investors is more the issue," Mr Thomas said.

"Qantas has been clear that it wants more foreign liquidity."

Total foreign holdings of Qantas shares is limited to 49 per cent under the Commonwealth Qantas Sale Act introduced in 1995.

The departure of BA frees up a substantial part of that 49 per cent, giving offshore investors a bigger chance to enter the Qantas register.

"We will see some more offshore names coming into Qantas now that BA has cleared out," an transport analyst at a US bank said.

"Short term the share price could be a little volatile, but overall the impact will be neutral and Qantas will go on as it has before, living up to its name as a solid investment in the aviation sector."

Qantas has said previously, the sale act effectively shackles the company by restricting its access to foreign capital and increasing its cost of capital compared to its many government-owned or supported global and regional competitors.

Mr Dixon and chairman Margaret Jackson have tried to convince the federal government to remove the cap.

But Prime Minister John Howard last month said the government has resisted the proposal and wants the airline to remain "quintessentially Australian."

BA's London-based commercial director Martin George said the sale act had deterred it from further consolidating its financial relationship with Qantas.

"There was a sense that if that was to change then that might have been a transaction that would have been evaluated, but the focus now is more on regional consolidation," Mr George told AAP.

BA said it was time to realise its investment in Qantas, which listed on the share market in 1995. The stake was bought in 1993 for $665 million and delivered $600 million in dividends.

"Our shareholders have had a good return from our investment in Qantas," said BA's Australian-born chief executive Rod Eddington.

The proceeds of the sale will be used to pay down part of BA's STG3.8 billion ($A9.7 billion) debt, strengthen its balance sheet and position it for future consolidation in the European aviation market.

"When the original (Qantas) investment was made in 1993 many people assumed that consolidation would be global, but now the wise sages in our industry think that the most likely consolidation will be regional consolidation," Mr George said.

BA will receive a final dividend from Qantas worth $30.3 million in coming weeks.

© 2004 AAP

=========================================

Rod Eddington, no stranger to industrial action has certainly picked the right timing for this sale if the rumblings of Qantas cabin crew's Christmas strategies are anything to go by.

It is interesting that Rod Eddington - past CEO of QANTAS - has decided - in his capacity as CEO of BA - to SELL off the QF shares.

Is it the threat of a looming industrial confrontation at XMAS time?
Or does he see the AUD falling, as the October 9 elections approach?
Perhaps he feels that his replacement has run out of ideas (once he's had his scrap with the F/A's) - or that future confrontations are only going to cost QANTAS even more in the future.
Does Eddington see QANTAS' ventures into the Asia Pacific region as liabilities?

Whatever the reason, it would indicate that Eddington has given a BIG http://pprune.org/forums/images/info...ons/icon13.gif to Dicko's future plans for QANTAS.

Kap, I can't agree Rod E was CEO of QF, I know he was associated with both CX and AN prior to heading up BA.

tipsy

Just watch Air New Zealand try and buy the shares to stop SQ from buying in!!!!!!

Actually if SQ decide to take a clump of shares it will turn the SE Asia market on it's ear.

A Star Alliance carrier with a major share in a OneWorld carrier!

CX, TG and MH and Branson would be scrambling.

And perhaps all those QF staff who got the shunt back in 93 when BA bought in - because they "couldn't make the transition to a new regime" can look at getting their jobs back. Seems ablout the only growth area is in management!!! :rolleyes:

Planemaker

Qantas Asia now clear for take-off
 

Thurs "The Australian"

Qantas Asia now clear for take-off
Robert Gottliebsen
September 09, 2004

THE decision by British Airways to sell its $1.1 billion stake in Qantas will enable chief Geoff Dixon to implement his master plan to turn Qantas into an Asian airline based in Australia.

Mr Dixon plans to take Qantas's Jetstar discount airline model into the region and gain more regional routes for the full-service airline in partnership with other Asian airlines.

"We will ... seek to further strengthen our commercial position to enable us to take a leading role in any suitable consolidation opportunities that may arise in the Asia-Pacific," Mr Dixon said from London yesterday.

Asia is the biggest airline market in the world outside the US.

The BA decision to sell out of Qantas after 11 years -- it beat Singapore Airlines to the punch with a $665 million investment in 1995 -- took Qantas executives by surprise. It is believed they were not told until Tuesday night.

BA was last night seeking to sell the shares widely to investors, all but ruling out another airline emerging with such a large stake.

It plans to use the funds to lighten a debt load of more than $10 billion as it prepares for a new round of consolidation in the European airline industry.

The first step of Mr Dixon's plan is to use the Jetstar Australia discount model in Asia. Jetstar Asia will be based in Singapore and be 49 per cent owned by Qantas and 51 per cent owned by Singapore investors, some of whom are shareholders in Singapore Airlines.

Jetstar Asia will fly to a string of smaller Asian cities including many in China.

The second step will be to increase the scale of the Qantas full service airline by enabling it to travel on more Asian routes in partnership with Asian carriers, probably led by Singapore Airlines.

Qantas believes that provided the costs of a full-service airline are not too far above the discount airlines, and they offer a better service, they will prosper.

But to lower full-service airline costs will require greater scale and Qantas will therefore participate in an Asian consolidation that will also deliver increased scale to its partners.

Longer term, these co-operative agreements will almost certainly be cemented by equity which could not be arranged while British Airways was a big shareholder because the Qantas overseas ownership limit of 49 per cent would be breached.

Also vital for Qantas's scale is maintaining a 65 per cent share of the Australian domestic market. Mr Dixon has warned Virgin Blue chief Brett Godfrey that he has drawn a line in the airline sand at 65 per cent.

But the lowering of full-service airline costs using greater scale will make it very hard for the smaller country-based, government-backed airlines such as Air New Zealand.

The widely accepted airline industry view is that full-service airlines can't operate discount airlines, but Qantas believes that the early profitability of Jetstar Australia shows it can operate successfully in both markets.

==========================================
Thurs "The Age"

The race is on for BA's Qantas stake
By Leonie Wood
September 9, 2004

British Airways is believed to have been swamped yesterday by private and institutional investors wanting a piece of its 18.25 per cent Qantas stake.

Market sources said the $1.1 billion offering would be at least 1.5 times oversubscribed.

With Citigroup due to close a global book-build for distribution of the stake at 4am today, market sources in Australia said the final sale price was likely to be $3.28 or towards the top end of a $3.24-$3.33 indicative bidding range.

Some rival broking firms claimed the pricing was too high and suggested Citigroup would have difficulty filling the book above $3.24, the price it agreed to underwrite BA's stake.

But because Qantas is one of the few global airlines that makes a profit and because it is not permitted under law to have more than 49 per cent of its shares in the hands of foreign investors, the sale of the BA stake was expected to draw strong interest from overseas investors.

BA said yesterday it would sell its Qantas shares, 10 years after it paid $665 million for a 25 per cent stake and convinced the Keating government that it was a worthy foundation investor capable of guiding Qantas through its float.

Over the years, BA has not participated in all Qantas capital raisings and has allowed its stake to be diluted. But it has taken about $600 million in dividends.

British Airways chief executive Rod Eddington said the sale proceeds would be used to trim the airline's £5.6 billion ($A14.3 billion) debt, helping place it "in a robust position for any future European consolidation".

"Consolidation is coming and we need to be well positioned to take advantage of it," Mr Eddington said on a conference call. "The balance sheet is a key issue and we need to strengthen it ahead of time."

What that consolidation entails is not yet clear. But the Qantas sale may indicate that BA believes mergers within the global airline market are better done on a regional basis - perhaps as Air France and KLM have done - rather than by straddling the globe.

Some institutional investors suggested that BA's exit might make Qantas' proposed merger with Air New Zealand more palatable to competition regulators on both sides of the Tasman who have already rejected the airlines' plan. The airlines are appealing against the decisions of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission and the NZ Commerce Commission.

After lengthy hearings earlier this year, the Australian Competition Tribunal is yet to hand down its decision on the Qantas/Air NZ merger.

An important factor in the tribunal's deliberations is the prospect of Emirates Airlines launching new routes to thread Australian and New Zealand ports. Such a move might mitigate some of the anti-competitive effects of Qantas and Air NZ merging their operations.

BA's close ties with Qantas will continue. They have a joint services arrangement that links their global flight schedules, ticketing and regional operations and effectively divides the responsibilities of each airline by region. How many of the 336 million shares are apportioned to foreign investors will play a big part in the Qantas share price after the distribution.

In short, if foreign investors received a disproportionately small slice, Qantas' share price most probably would rise over the next few months.

This is because Qantas is not a member of the Morgan Stanley Capital Index (MSCI), a benchmark index that assists foreign investors when they apportion funds to regional sharemarkets. The returns of many international funds are evaluated against the MSCI.

One reason for Qantas' exclusion until now has been a lack of liquidity and the cap on foreign holdings.

Because BA's exit dramatically increases Qantas' liquidity, Qantas is almost assured of inclusion in the MSCI when the index is reviewed next year.

============================================

Thurs "Sydney Morning Herald"

Brits out - Qantas looks to Asia
By Scott Rochfort
September 9, 2004

Qantas no longer has a majority shareholder after private and institutional investors rushed to grab a slice of British Airways\' 18.25 per cent stake in the Australian carrier.

The sale - ending an 11-year relationship between the two airlines - is likely to add impetus to Qantas\'s plans to join forces with a strong regional partner, possibly Singapore Airlines, to dominate the Asia-Pacific region.

Citigroup, which was appointed to sell the $1.1 billion stake, last night encountered strong demand for the stock, particularly in Asia, as bids were taken from institutional investors around the globe.

Ending weeks of speculation that a sale was close, BA said it had sold the stake to prepare itself for the next wave of consolidation tipped to sweep through the European airline industry following the recent merger of Air France and Dutch carrier KLM.

BA originally bought 25 per cent of Qantas from the Keating Government for $665 million in 1993 after a bid from Singapore Air was rejected.

Yesterday, BA offered its stake to institutional investors for "not less than" $1.09 billion or $3.24 a share. It is believed investors were bidding closer to $3.30.

Qantas last sold for $3.33 before trading was suspended yesterday morning.

BA said it would use the sale proceeds to reduce debt and ensure it was a "consolidator, not a consolidatee".

Both airlines said the sale would not affect their joint services agreement, which allows them to co-ordinate fares and schedules on flights between Australia and the UK.

BA\'s commercial director, Martin George, said the sale was part of a plan to cut net debt from £3.9 billion ($10 billion) to below £3 billion and take advantage of potential consolidation opportunities, although BA has ruled out increasing its 9 per cent stake in Spanish airline Iberia.

Mr George declined to say whether BA had considered selling its stake to another foreign carrier.

"In deciding how we were going to sell the stake, we looked at a range of options and we decided this was the best thing for BA shareholders," he said.

"We\'re mindful of [Qantas chief executive] Geoff Dixon\'s position and Qantas is still a key partner and we\'re conscious of that."

At Qantas\'s recent full-year results briefing, Mr Dixon said he would rather BA offer its stake to fund managers, not an airline.

From London, where he was meeting several institutional investors, Mr Dixon said the "tyranny of distance between Australia and the United Kingdom" ruled out Qantas and BA joining together in any industry consolidation.

Qantas now has a relatively open share register, giving Mr Dixon and the board more leverage to forge a regional alliance of their own choosing. Qantas and Air New Zealand have been thwarted by competition regulators on both sides of the Tasman in their attempts to take a cross-shareholding.

But Mr Dixon has long expressed a desire to link with Singapore Airlines, creating a super airline for the Asia-Pacific hub. Singapore Airlines, which has been pushing the Federal Government to open up the heavily protected and highly lucrative Australia-Los Angeles route, declined to comment.

Australian Competition and Consumer Commission chairman Graeme Samuel said the "shareholding has not much relevance to the [joint services agreement]" between Qantas and BA.

After a 15-month wait, last month the ACCC proposed extending the agreement for another five years despite citing its detrimental impact on business traffic on the UK-Australia route.

Following objections by Virgin Atlantic, which called the ACCC\'s decision "perverse", the watchdog will hold a pre-determination conference in November to air concerns over the agreement.

=========================================

Thurs "The Times" (London)

Poms go home
Why has British Airways sold its interest in profitable Qantas to focus on a European aviation market where earnings are elusive? By Mike Verdin

Who says patience never goes rewarded? Edward VII was nearly 60 when he inherited the throne. Dame Peggy Ashcroft was 77 when she won her only Oscar.

In Australia, anti-British elements which 12 years ago funded a "Piss off Poms" poster at Sydney airport in protest at the sale of a quarter of Qantas to British Airways, have had their wish granted.

BA this morning said that it was selling its Qantas shares for £425 million. Why? BA can hardly have been disappointed at Qantas's performance – the airline last month announced a record annual profit of £254 million.

Nor is BA ditching its working relations with Qantas, proclaiming that the sale will have "no impact" on the airlines' joint service agreement which has allowed them, for instance, to share revenues for services on the UK-Australia "kangaroo" routes.

Instead, BA said it wished to strengthen its balance sheet to exploit "any future European consolidation" in the airline sector.

The issue of tie-ups reappeared on the radar 12 months ago when Air France and KLM announced their tie-up to create Europe's largest airline, overtaking BA, and allow at least €500 million in synergy savings to be unlocked.

Ryanair, which itself last year bought Buzz, the low-cost Dutch carrier, has kept the consolidation issue alive through repeated warnings of the disasters which await weaker airlines in the cutthroat European aviation sector (look at Alitalia's continued problems), and the rewards which can be reaped by survivors..

BA has repeatedly sought a merger to bolster its own position and fulfil a prophecy made by its chief executive Rod Eddington after the September 11 attacks that Europe would be left with international airline groups based around three carriers – his own, Air France and Lufthansa.

Yet its has found tie-up efforts thwarted by regulatory interference, as was, for example, its prospective merger with KLM 13 years ago and, later, with American Airlines.

A likely tie-up target remains – Iberia, the Spanish airline which analysts agree would be a good fit for the British flag carrier.

Yet is BA right to pursue a greater presence in the tight European market at the price of reducing its presence in south-east Asia and the Southern Hemisphere?

It is a decision which may appear foolhardy in the light of BA's failure to achieve profitability in Europe and in the improving conditions on long-haul routes. It is in providing such services, after all, that the greatest margins lie.

However, British Airways can ill-afford to fight on the long distance air corridors without a strong domestic presence. To become reliant on longhaul would open BA to disaster in the event of further geopolitical unrest, or events such as the Sars outbreak. Furthermore, the victors of the European air wars could be in line for generous rewards. Ryanair today proclaimed itself "Italy's favourite airline for Europe", turning the knife as Alitalia wallowed near bankruptcy.

There is the old Aussie joke about how to tell the BA flight at Sydney airport (it's the one which is still whining long after the engines have been turned off).

If today's share sale will be welcomed by anti-British Australians, it should not be mourned by BA shareholders who, as Mr Eddington said, have received "good returns" from the Qantas investment.

If anyone is concerned, it should be the Qantas bosses. The Poms may have gone, but who will replace their whining now?

==========================================

Kap M. If you are going to publish conspiracy theories they will hold a lot more creedence if you get the basics right.

Eddington was AN's CEO. Not QF"S.

As an aside, I find the Times slant on things rather out of touch and patronising.

Thanks tipsy and T_C_o_B, I stand corrected, Roderick was CEO of Ansett and Cathay Pacific, and not QF.

An interesting move.