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qan posts

Qantas buyout hits turbulence

Posted Mar 23rd 2007 2:57PM by Tom Taulli (RSS feed)
Filed under: Private Equity

Taking over an airline is always difficult. Besides dealing with a tough business, there is also the politics.

In the case of the $9 billion buyout for Qantas Airways Ltd. (ASX:QAN), the buyers, including Texas Pacific Group, were able to get buy-in from the necessary governmental authorities.

That looked like it would be the biggest hurdle, right?

Maybe not. According to a story in The Age, there are still some more issues.

A big shareholder -- Balanced Equity Management -- basically wants a higher price. And why not? Equity in Australia has been red hot.

It's a gutsy strategy, though. If the deal falls through, Qantas shares are probably going to be lower than current levels. Keep in mind that there are a lot of hedge funds in the stock and they may dump their shares if the deal implodes. In fact, on the recent news, the stock price of Qantas fell 3%.

Tom Taulli is the author of various books, including the Complete M&A Handbook and the EDGAR-Online Guide to Decoding Financial Statements.

Airline industry crackdown: on stewardesses having sex?

Posted Feb 23rd 2007 5:20PM by Sarah Gilbert (RSS feed)
Filed under: Employees, Scandals

The airline industry, oh, it's plagued with problems right now. I'm sure you could help me list them: overcrowding on airplanes, passengers left to suffer overflowed toilets on the tarmac, unappealing food, no food at all. Delays, record financial losses, union woes, price pressures. Yep. The airline industry has issues.

But why focus on the real problems when you can make such a wide public statement that shows your commitment to AIDS prevention? I know, what? Qantas Airways Limited (ASX:QAN) terminated the flight attendant who, reportedly, had sex with actor Ralph Fiennes in an airplane bathroom. Ironically, he was on his way to Mumbai to deliver a speech about AIDS -- bloggers are reporting salaciously that he committed AIDS prevention no-no No. 1 (though I don't know how anyone can be sure about his prophylactic use or lack thereof).

In any case, a high-profile tabloidy encounter between a beautiful flight attendant and a sex symbol of an actor should be the airline industry's least concern.