Lang fights on for Ansett
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Lang fights on for Ansett
From Sat "Melbourne Age": http://www.newsdirectory.com/go/?f=&....theage.com.au
Up in the air Lang fights on for Ansett
By LEONIE WOOD
Saturday 8 December 2001
Lang Corporation's Chris Corrigan has directly approached some of Ansett's creditors in recent days as part of a new effort to spill a proposed $1.1 billion bid by Melbourne businessmen Lindsay Fox and Solomon Lew and win control of the airline's terminal assets.
People close to the talks said Mr Corrigan had met National Australia Bank in recent days and argued that Lang Corp, in conjunction with Ansett rival Virgin Blue, might be able to offer a higher dividend to creditors than forecast by the administrators, if the pair were given access to confidential data about the Ansett assets.
NAB, which stands to lose more than $100 million from Ansett's collapse, is understood to agree strongly with Lang Corp's argument. Sources said that while NAB believes the Fox-Lew plan to rebuild the airline appears superior to $300 million Lang Corp offer for Ansett's terminals, all bidders should be given access to as much information as possible.
Lang Corp is believed to have approached other creditors, particularly high-value creditors, to persuade them to get the data room reopened.
Lang Corp and Virgin Blue have also held talks with charge-card group Diners Club, which ran the Global Rewards loyalty program for Ansett frequent flyers, and suggested that Virgin Blue may redeem some flights for members who accumulated points under the old system.
The approach to Diners Club has been interpreted by some in the business community as an attempt to influence Ansett's estimated 2.7 million frequent flyers to support for a Lang Corp/Virgin Blue offer, if one eventuates.
In theory, Lang Corp/Virgin Blue may win the terminal assets if a majority of Ansett's creditors, by value and number, approve a deed of company arrangement.
While frequent flyers represent the biggest single block of potential creditors, their status remains uncertain. Independent insolvency specialists expect Ansett's administrators will seek a landmark ruling from the Federal Court about how loyalty members should be treated in an insolvency.
Lang Corp in late November declared it would inject $300 million into Virgin Blue and buy a majority stake in the discount carrier (for an unspecified price) if Virgin Blue bought Ansett's terminals.
The administrators, Mark Mentha and Mark Korda of accounting firm Andersen, at the time dismissed Mr Corrigan's late offer, saying it was a "fall-back option". They said the Fox-Lew group had signed a conditional deal on November 8 to buy Ansett's intercapital operations and terminals, and the data room was closed to other bidders.
Yesterday the administrators told The Age they were considering all issues associated with Mr Corrigan's request to reopen the data room. They said Lang Corp had access to the data room from October 1, but noted that Lang Corp now wanted to bring Virgin Blue into the data room - a proposal that the Fox-Lew group strongly opposed.
It is believed some creditors plan to approach the administrators and argue they should "err on the side of generosity" and give Lang Corp complete access, regardless of the Fox-Lew concerns.
Lang Corp's latest moves coincide with a wave of criticism emanating from some sections of the business community that claim Mr Mentha and Mr Korda have become too close to the unions.
The pair strongly defended their approach yesterday, saying they were "totally transparent" and had kept the creditors' committee, Federal Court, Australian Securities and Investments Commission and unions informed.
"I do not believe we have prejudiced the creditors one bit," Mr Mentha said.
Virgin Blue plans an aggressive fare campaign for the first two months of a Fox-Lew-owned Ansett, selling 250,000 "super-low" fares.
Up in the air Lang fights on for Ansett
By LEONIE WOOD
Saturday 8 December 2001
Lang Corporation's Chris Corrigan has directly approached some of Ansett's creditors in recent days as part of a new effort to spill a proposed $1.1 billion bid by Melbourne businessmen Lindsay Fox and Solomon Lew and win control of the airline's terminal assets.
People close to the talks said Mr Corrigan had met National Australia Bank in recent days and argued that Lang Corp, in conjunction with Ansett rival Virgin Blue, might be able to offer a higher dividend to creditors than forecast by the administrators, if the pair were given access to confidential data about the Ansett assets.
NAB, which stands to lose more than $100 million from Ansett's collapse, is understood to agree strongly with Lang Corp's argument. Sources said that while NAB believes the Fox-Lew plan to rebuild the airline appears superior to $300 million Lang Corp offer for Ansett's terminals, all bidders should be given access to as much information as possible.
Lang Corp is believed to have approached other creditors, particularly high-value creditors, to persuade them to get the data room reopened.
Lang Corp and Virgin Blue have also held talks with charge-card group Diners Club, which ran the Global Rewards loyalty program for Ansett frequent flyers, and suggested that Virgin Blue may redeem some flights for members who accumulated points under the old system.
The approach to Diners Club has been interpreted by some in the business community as an attempt to influence Ansett's estimated 2.7 million frequent flyers to support for a Lang Corp/Virgin Blue offer, if one eventuates.
In theory, Lang Corp/Virgin Blue may win the terminal assets if a majority of Ansett's creditors, by value and number, approve a deed of company arrangement.
While frequent flyers represent the biggest single block of potential creditors, their status remains uncertain. Independent insolvency specialists expect Ansett's administrators will seek a landmark ruling from the Federal Court about how loyalty members should be treated in an insolvency.
Lang Corp in late November declared it would inject $300 million into Virgin Blue and buy a majority stake in the discount carrier (for an unspecified price) if Virgin Blue bought Ansett's terminals.
The administrators, Mark Mentha and Mark Korda of accounting firm Andersen, at the time dismissed Mr Corrigan's late offer, saying it was a "fall-back option". They said the Fox-Lew group had signed a conditional deal on November 8 to buy Ansett's intercapital operations and terminals, and the data room was closed to other bidders.
Yesterday the administrators told The Age they were considering all issues associated with Mr Corrigan's request to reopen the data room. They said Lang Corp had access to the data room from October 1, but noted that Lang Corp now wanted to bring Virgin Blue into the data room - a proposal that the Fox-Lew group strongly opposed.
It is believed some creditors plan to approach the administrators and argue they should "err on the side of generosity" and give Lang Corp complete access, regardless of the Fox-Lew concerns.
Lang Corp's latest moves coincide with a wave of criticism emanating from some sections of the business community that claim Mr Mentha and Mr Korda have become too close to the unions.
The pair strongly defended their approach yesterday, saying they were "totally transparent" and had kept the creditors' committee, Federal Court, Australian Securities and Investments Commission and unions informed.
"I do not believe we have prejudiced the creditors one bit," Mr Mentha said.
Virgin Blue plans an aggressive fare campaign for the first two months of a Fox-Lew-owned Ansett, selling 250,000 "super-low" fares.
short flights long nights
It just seems to get more and more messy, or perhaps I am missing the bigger picture?
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Ok I can't help myself.....lame holy s**t! Get over yourself. I don't think it was that nobody believed you, I think it was just that nobody gives a stuff what you thought. Maybe it's just because you post 50 times per day.....
BTW Lew/Fox will own Ansett on Febuary 1. Comprehede?
BTW Lew/Fox will own Ansett on Febuary 1. Comprehede?
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Bronte, me thinks your words and your attitude speak for themselves.........
Build a bridge and get over it. Concerted efforts like yours to just be a pain in the RRR's are the sign of someone not secure in themselves and the wish to create havoc form behind a front of anonimity.
Once you have calmed down after reading this, you might ponder just how short a time we actually do get here, why not enjoy it?
Build a bridge and get over it. Concerted efforts like yours to just be a pain in the RRR's are the sign of someone not secure in themselves and the wish to create havoc form behind a front of anonimity.
Once you have calmed down after reading this, you might ponder just how short a time we actually do get here, why not enjoy it?
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I Have posted to other topics that IMHO the fight for Ansett is not over yet, the game is only just beginning.
The creditors will determine the outcome as is required by law.
The Federal Court is yet to determine as to whether or not Frequent Flyer Points Members are to be admitted as creditors.
I expect that VB/Lang Corp will keep persueing the matter with a view to obtaining more creditor suppport.
If more of the larger creditors can be influenced that they are likely to receive more from one bidder than the other, it may influence which way they will vote when it comes to the crunch.
The word around Melb is watch this space, there is quite money on VB/Lang.
I thing some Barristers may end up doing quite well out of this as well.
The creditors will determine the outcome as is required by law.
The Federal Court is yet to determine as to whether or not Frequent Flyer Points Members are to be admitted as creditors.
I expect that VB/Lang Corp will keep persueing the matter with a view to obtaining more creditor suppport.
If more of the larger creditors can be influenced that they are likely to receive more from one bidder than the other, it may influence which way they will vote when it comes to the crunch.
The word around Melb is watch this space, there is quite money on VB/Lang.
I thing some Barristers may end up doing quite well out of this as well.
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Bronte
You would do well to heed 429CJs advice, on this forum anyway.
This forum does not provide a 'competition' as to who is the rightest
or wrongest 
, events will continue to unfold.
Were you to troll the bourses of this country you may well find a wide diversity of opinion on the matter. You may choose to believe or champion any side you wish, the endgame however, will be decided by the courts and the creditors which is as it should be.
So for the moment if we must, lets just debate the merits of this or that offer and try not to get personal eh.
You would do well to heed 429CJs advice, on this forum anyway.
This forum does not provide a 'competition' as to who is the rightest
or wrongest , events will continue to unfold.Were you to troll the bourses of this country you may well find a wide diversity of opinion on the matter. You may choose to believe or champion any side you wish, the endgame however, will be decided by the courts and the creditors which is as it should be.
So for the moment if we must, lets just debate the merits of this or that offer and try not to get personal eh.
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Bronte,
I do not know what I have done to upset you so much.....
I often receive comments like yours, and yes it gets to me, some time ago I said I would give up posting as much as I do, to please these people. Then I received positive comments from a lot more people than that, both on the Forum and in emails, telling me NOT to stop, to keep posting as much as ever, so it is impossible to please everyone.....
On this particular subject, I was purely pointing out that many of the things raised as of concern to the business community, are the very same things that I have been warning of for weeks now here on PPRuNe.
IF my postings upset you so much, PLEASE oh PLEASE don't read them..........
Best regards,
"lame"
I do not know what I have done to upset you so much.....
I often receive comments like yours, and yes it gets to me, some time ago I said I would give up posting as much as I do, to please these people. Then I received positive comments from a lot more people than that, both on the Forum and in emails, telling me NOT to stop, to keep posting as much as ever, so it is impossible to please everyone.....
On this particular subject, I was purely pointing out that many of the things raised as of concern to the business community, are the very same things that I have been warning of for weeks now here on PPRuNe.
IF my postings upset you so much, PLEASE oh PLEASE don't read them..........
Best regards,
"lame"
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So VB plans super low fares eh? (dumping below cost!)
HYPOCRITES
Dont they whine every time anyone else does this? I still dont understand why all the airlines dont put fares up(like the banks do in unison) so they all can make money. It defies logic.
HYPOCRITES
Dont they whine every time anyone else does this? I still dont understand why all the airlines dont put fares up(like the banks do in unison) so they all can make money. It defies logic.
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Lang, Virgin offer back on table
From AAP
14dec01
LANG Corp and Virgin Blue have resubmitted their offer to buy a range of Ansett assets.
In a statement to the Australian Stock Exchange, Lang Corp said the move followed a request from Ansett's administrators.
"The offer is in the same terms as that made previously and includes the purchase of Ansett terminals, maintenance division and spare parts," the company said.
"The offer also includes an undertaking to employ up to 2000 former Ansett employees and to assume the accrued entitlements of those employees."
Lang Corp said the Lang Virgin Blue consortium had repeated its request to Ansett's administrators to allow access to the Ansett data room.
"If we are given access to further financial information we will be able to consider whether an offer could be made for additional Ansett assets which would increase the returns to creditors," it said.
From AAP
14dec01
LANG Corp and Virgin Blue have resubmitted their offer to buy a range of Ansett assets.
In a statement to the Australian Stock Exchange, Lang Corp said the move followed a request from Ansett's administrators.
"The offer is in the same terms as that made previously and includes the purchase of Ansett terminals, maintenance division and spare parts," the company said.
"The offer also includes an undertaking to employ up to 2000 former Ansett employees and to assume the accrued entitlements of those employees."
Lang Corp said the Lang Virgin Blue consortium had repeated its request to Ansett's administrators to allow access to the Ansett data room.
"If we are given access to further financial information we will be able to consider whether an offer could be made for additional Ansett assets which would increase the returns to creditors," it said.
