Aerolíneas sold to Marsans
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Aerolíneas sold to Marsans
Aerol'neas Argentinas has been sold to a group headed by the Spanish travel company Marsans. They've promised not to sack anyone for two years and reactivate the routes dropped in recent months. How they are going to do this in the prevailing climate for avaiation world wide remains to be seen
http://www.pagina12.com.ar/2001/01-1...0-03/pag03.htm
http://www.pagina12.com.ar/2001/01-1...0-03/pag03.htm
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Pure coincidence, I think, that Dinar should have a banner ad at the top of this story. It's taken from the website of Pagina 12, a respected national newspaper
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Jorge,
Here is an article from the FT, followed by a "predictable" response from the union, published in El Mundo:
FT - "The Spanish government on Tuesday sold Aerolineas Argentinas to a private Spanish tour operator, which has agreed to take over half of the Argentine flag-carrier's $1.2bn debt and inject $50m to re-capitalise the airline and Austral, its domestic unit.
Grupo Marsans, owned by Spanish businessmen Gonzalo Pascual and Gerardo D'az, along with Antonio Mata, will acquire Aerolineas Argentinas through Air Comet, a private airline.
Grupo Marsans expects to see synergies with the other companies it controls, including Viajes Marsans, a Spanish tour operator, Spanair, a joint venture with Scandinavian Airlines System, and Air Plus Argentina.
The buyers agreed to keep all of Aerolineas Argentinas' 6,734 employees for two years and will reopen the routes closed during its financial crisis.
A further 23 aircraft will be added to the 50-strong fleet in the next four years. Grupo Marsans' business plan calls for the Aerolineas Argentinas group to break even in the first year of its ownership and report operating profits in the second year.
Employees, who control the 8 per cent of Aerolineas Argentinas not held by SEPI, the Spanish state holding company, will be able to subscribe to 10 per cent of the planned $50m capital increase. A further 15 per cent will be open to Argentine institutional investors.
Grupo Marsans outbid Asset Management, Clicknest, and Juan Carlos Pellegrini, a former chairman of the airline.
Dresdner Kleinwort Benson acted as an independent adviser for the sale.
Aerolineas Argentinas suspended payments in June to seek protection from creditors after Repsol-YPF, the Spanish oil company, threatened to ground the carrier's flights because of unpaid fuel bills.
The company claimed that it was unable to service debts totalling some $950mand was sustaining monthly losses of more than $30m.
The sale puts an end to Spain's investment in Aerolineas Argentinas totalling $1.8bn over 10 years as it increased its stake in the airline to 92 per cent from an initial 20 per cent.
SEPI tried applying the same kind of "director's plan" used to bring Iberia, the Spanish flag-carrier, into profitability, but a weak tourism sector in Argentina and conflicts with unions made the plan impossible."
El Mundo - "Unions in Argentine carrier Aerolineas Argentinas yesterday reacted negatively to news of the company's award to Air Comet. The are specifically questioning whether the airline should continue in Spanish hands after disastrous management by Spanish counterpart Iberia and industrial holding Sepi. Alicia Castro, head of the cabin crew union, announced that an appeal against the decision would be lodged in the courts as she believes that the Aeronautic Code states that the majority of a flag carrier's share capital must lie in Argentine hands.
The union leader believes that as Viajes Marsans controls Spainair and Air Plus, both of which are Spanish competitors to the Argentine carrier, the company will favour the Spanish groups, as was the case with Iberia, leading to a deterioration and asset stripping at Aerolineas. Castro's stance is nearly identical to that adopted by the other unions."
Here is an article from the FT, followed by a "predictable" response from the union, published in El Mundo:
FT - "The Spanish government on Tuesday sold Aerolineas Argentinas to a private Spanish tour operator, which has agreed to take over half of the Argentine flag-carrier's $1.2bn debt and inject $50m to re-capitalise the airline and Austral, its domestic unit.
Grupo Marsans, owned by Spanish businessmen Gonzalo Pascual and Gerardo D'az, along with Antonio Mata, will acquire Aerolineas Argentinas through Air Comet, a private airline.
Grupo Marsans expects to see synergies with the other companies it controls, including Viajes Marsans, a Spanish tour operator, Spanair, a joint venture with Scandinavian Airlines System, and Air Plus Argentina.
The buyers agreed to keep all of Aerolineas Argentinas' 6,734 employees for two years and will reopen the routes closed during its financial crisis.
A further 23 aircraft will be added to the 50-strong fleet in the next four years. Grupo Marsans' business plan calls for the Aerolineas Argentinas group to break even in the first year of its ownership and report operating profits in the second year.
Employees, who control the 8 per cent of Aerolineas Argentinas not held by SEPI, the Spanish state holding company, will be able to subscribe to 10 per cent of the planned $50m capital increase. A further 15 per cent will be open to Argentine institutional investors.
Grupo Marsans outbid Asset Management, Clicknest, and Juan Carlos Pellegrini, a former chairman of the airline.
Dresdner Kleinwort Benson acted as an independent adviser for the sale.
Aerolineas Argentinas suspended payments in June to seek protection from creditors after Repsol-YPF, the Spanish oil company, threatened to ground the carrier's flights because of unpaid fuel bills.
The company claimed that it was unable to service debts totalling some $950mand was sustaining monthly losses of more than $30m.
The sale puts an end to Spain's investment in Aerolineas Argentinas totalling $1.8bn over 10 years as it increased its stake in the airline to 92 per cent from an initial 20 per cent.
SEPI tried applying the same kind of "director's plan" used to bring Iberia, the Spanish flag-carrier, into profitability, but a weak tourism sector in Argentina and conflicts with unions made the plan impossible."
El Mundo - "Unions in Argentine carrier Aerolineas Argentinas yesterday reacted negatively to news of the company's award to Air Comet. The are specifically questioning whether the airline should continue in Spanish hands after disastrous management by Spanish counterpart Iberia and industrial holding Sepi. Alicia Castro, head of the cabin crew union, announced that an appeal against the decision would be lodged in the courts as she believes that the Aeronautic Code states that the majority of a flag carrier's share capital must lie in Argentine hands.
The union leader believes that as Viajes Marsans controls Spainair and Air Plus, both of which are Spanish competitors to the Argentine carrier, the company will favour the Spanish groups, as was the case with Iberia, leading to a deterioration and asset stripping at Aerolineas. Castro's stance is nearly identical to that adopted by the other unions."
