QANTAS being taken over by Macquarie Bank..

[Mal]

IMHO, I still only give the takeover bid around a 60% chance of being successful and not withdrawn or denied.

Time will tell....

 

[Takeshi]

Does the Consortium have to let the FIRB and ACCC what plans they have for the new look Qantas ?
And will this info be made public ?

I still would love to know how they will make money without breaking up the airline as the say ...... if you can believe that.

This is the 11 billion dollar question everyone would like to know.

Now there is a rumour that possibly a second bidder might come along, hence the share price staying where it is.

I still read everything negative about this takeover, but then you read so called experts saying that the take-over will probably go ahead.

I still think this whole thing is about making a select few very rich, and really nothing to do with getting Qantas in a better position.
What are your views ?

Cheers,

 

[Mal]

IMHO, I don't really care who owns Qantas.

It could be 99% foreign owned, and I wouldn't really bat an eyelid.

As long as they keep their planes safe and their Frequent Flyers happy then I'm happy.

If they don't keep their Frequent Flyer's happy, then I have other FF schemes to desert to.

The majority of the public are majorly misinformed when it comes to companies like Qantas. "Keep it Australian" they cry. Please. It's already 49% foreign owned. "They're going to drop the frequent flyer scheme that my credit card points go to" they also scream. Hmmm. Not going to happen. "They're going to make my points worthless" they also cry. Nope, not without some warning.

While I still maintain that the bid only has a reasonable chance of going ahead, chicken little is well and alive in misinformed Australians.

Was there as much screaming when Vegemite became non-Australian? How about other icons which have fallen under the control of foreign entities?

 

[JohnK]

IMHO, I still only give the takeover bid around a 60% chance of being successful and not withdrawn or denied.

Time will tell....

I think the chances of the takeover bid being successful will lessen over time and it looks as if the takeover bid will not get the quick and easy approval everyone expected when the bid was accepted 5 weeks ago.

 

[pauly7]

IMHO, I don't really care who owns Qantas.

It could be 99% foreign owned, and I wouldn't really bat an eyelid.

As long as they keep their planes safe and their Frequent Flyers happy then I'm happy.

If they don't keep their Frequent Flyer's happy, then I have other FF schemes to desert to.

The majority of the public are majorly misinformed when it comes to companies like Qantas. "Keep it Australian" they cry. Please. It's already 49% foreign owned. "They're going to drop the frequent flyer scheme that my credit card points go to" they also scream. Hmmm. Not going to happen. "They're going to make my points worthless" they also cry. Nope, not without some warning.

While I still maintain that the bid only has a reasonable chance of going ahead, chicken little is well and alive in misinformed Australians.

Was there as much screaming when Vegemite became non-Australian? How about other icons which have fallen under the control of foreign entities?

Completely agree with everything you say! If QF FF did get binned/devalued majorly (which isn't going to happen) there is always AA etc! Its not like everyone would suddenly be forced to switch to Virgin Frequent Flyer!

 

[serfty]

IMHO, I don't really care who owns Qantas.

It could be 99% foreign owned, and I wouldn't really bat an eyelid.

As long as they keep their planes safe and their Frequent Flyers happy then I'm happy.

If they don't keep their Frequent Flyer's happy, then I have other FF schemes to desert to.

The majority of the public are majorly misinformed when it comes to companies like Qantas. "Keep it Australian" they cry. Please. It's already 49% foreign owned. "They're going to drop the frequent flyer scheme that my credit card points go to" they also scream. Hmmm. Not going to happen. "They're going to make my points worthless" they also cry. Nope, not without some warning.

While I still maintain that the bid only has a reasonable chance of going ahead, chicken little is well and alive in misinformed Australians.

Was there as much screaming when Vegemite became non-Australian? How about other icons which have fallen under the control of foreign entities?

Not sure even the current admin has kept its Frequent Flyers Happy. :evil:

As for this takeover bid; if approved, Qantas will become more than 50% foreign owned, there's some weird structure with the bid to keep board of management voting rights more than 50% "Aussie".

 

[Dave Noble]

An intersting article in the smh about this issue... Still call it Australian-owned - Opinion - smh.com.au . Doesn't sound too dismal

Dave

 

[Yada Yada]

An intersting article in the smh about this issue... Still call it Australian-owned - Opinion - smh.com.au . Doesn't sound too dismal

Forgive for me for being a bit cynical but I've always found Paul Sheehan's opinion pieces in the SMH to be very lop-sided. This article seems just a bit too positive about the takeover deal and those behind it. He makes it sound like they are only concerned about running an airline really well and adding value, etc.

If this is the case, why are they going to refloat QF down the track? If they like the business enough to buy it, why not keep it for the long term? Realistically, they are trying to buy QF because the business presents a golden opportunity to make themselves a huge pile of cash - it is a profitable airline with a good deal of government favour and protection. To paint them as good-hearted people who are roaming the world fixing airlines is a bit cartoonish.

 

[Takeshi]

Yes I still am confused on how this Airline partners plans to get a return out of Qantas.
Qantas is a good airline, as has a good model, and is one of only a few profitable airlines in the world.
Dixon has cut it back to a very lean company.

How much more can this mob get out of Qantas.

The only way I can see is a sell-off of assetts once the dust settles.
Catering, Holidays, Freight, FF, Maintenace, outsource all its ground handling, and just keep Pilots, a nd a few Australian crew, then hire cheap overseas flight attendants.

Does anyone know how this Bonderman turned Continental airlines around ?
Did he sell-off the airlines assetts ?

I still think all this is about making a select few very rich through fee's and consulting, and really nothing to do with making Qantas a better Airline, but thats my opinion.

 

[Tooner]

From the weekend edition of the Mrs Moneypenny column:

Presumably the key people taking Qantas private are hoping to make enough money to fly themselves and their children first class, or even better, by private jet, for ever. But I just don't get it. The deal will be leveraged to the hilt in the usual manner of these things. Where are they going to get the improvement in performance needed to pay it all back? What will they sell? And to whom? And whatever they do, surely it won't be anything that a competent and properly incentivised management team couldn't have done under public ownership? They are even keeping the same CEO, Geoff Dixon - couldn't he have managed whatever rabbit he is going to pull out of whichever hat as a public company? Margaret Jackson, Qantas's chairman, and her board, have missed a trick, in my opinion. They will pass into the history books as having got the offer increased from A$5.50 to A$5.60 (which, in any currency, is an increase of less than 2 per cent) rather than seizing the opportunity to become the heroes of the institutional investor community. Qantas will be refloated or sold in a few years and a small number of investors will make a large amount of money. Had the board delivered the same performance improvement under public ownership many more people would have been able to share in the gains.

 

[simongr]

Yes I still am confused on how this Airline partners plans to get a return out of Qantas.
Qantas is a good airline, as has a good model, and is one of only a few profitable airlines in the world.
Dixon has cut it back to a very lean company.

How much more can this mob get out of Qantas.

The only way I can see is a sell-off of assetts once the dust settles.
Catering, Holidays, Freight, FF, Maintenace, outsource all its ground handling, and just keep Pilots, a nd a few Australian crew, then hire cheap overseas flight attendants.

Does anyone know how this Bonderman turned Continental airlines around ?
Did he sell-off the airlines assetts ?

I still think all this is about making a select few very rich through fee's and consulting, and really nothing to do with making Qantas a better Airline, but thats my opinion.

Have you read through this thread? As much as people have disagreed about the pros/cons there are also posts on how you can generate a return on the investment. Its not necessarily about increasing profit. Debt requires a lower return than equity. So if you structure the deal so that instead of investing your own cash you invest a little bit of your cash and a lot of debt - you get a great return on your little bit of cash.

Sorry to be snappy but every 15th(ish) post someone posts "How can they make money out of this - they MUST sell assets??" and it has been demonstrated that it is possible to deleiver a return without selling assets. they migt still do that though... and so might Dixon even if Qantas is not bought...

 

[QF WP]

And next it will be BA being taken over by Macquarie Bank led consortium...

 

[JohnK]

Forgive for me for being a bit cynical but I've always found Paul Sheehan's opinion pieces in the SMH to be very lop-sided. This article seems just a bit too positive about the takeover deal and those behind it. He makes it sound like they are only concerned about running an airline really well and adding value, etc.

If this is the case, why are they going to refloat QF down the track? If they like the business enough to buy it, why not keep it for the long term? Realistically, they are trying to buy QF because the business presents a golden opportunity to make themselves a huge pile of cash - it is a profitable airline with a good deal of government favour and protection. To paint them as good-hearted people who are roaming the world fixing airlines is a bit cartoonish.

Well said Peter. People should stop seeing this as a saviour for Qantas (QF is doing great as a public company and does not require saving) and more as a money grabbing exercise for Macquarie and it's partners.

 

[Dave Noble]

Well said Peter. People should stop seeing this as a saviour for Qantas (QF is doing great as a public company and does not require saving) and more as a money grabbing exercise for Macquarie and it's partners.

Why should they? Why would they purchase the company and attempt to turn it into a lower value item if they intend to refloat it for a profit later? That , to me, would seem an unlikely proposal

Then again... The sky is falling in, the sky is falling in

Dave

 

[JohnK]

Why should they?

Most analysts with any credibility have labelled the takeover bid as a money grabbing exercise. Why sugar coat it making it sound like it will be the saviour Qantas has been waiting for all these years.

Fact. Qantas is one of the most profitable airlines in the world and does not require saving!

Why would they purchase the company and attempt to turn it into a lower value item if they intend to refloat it for a profit later? That , to me, would seem an unlikely proposal

Lots of reasons, one of them being the amount of money Macquarie will make from the initial takeover and the ongoing consultancy fees advising the new company absolutely nothing. This is how Macquarie makes money.

The end result would not be an attempt to float a lower value item but rather a highly debt ridden lower value item after it has been stripped of all assets. Buy in the new float at your own risk!

 

[Soundguy]

Then again... The sky is falling in, the sky is falling in

Nope; it's just getting hotter. You and I might not have noticed it but the media says so, so it must be.

Or colder, some in the media also say it is getting colder, so we know for a fact that it will get hotter and colder, and some add wetter and dryer.:shock:

From this we can conclude with certaintly from the media that the QF deal is definitely good except for the parts which are bad and these parts are less good, with the good parts being touted as less bad.

 

[Kiwi Flyer]

Well said Peter. People should stop seeing this as a saviour for Qantas (QF is doing great as a public company and does not require saving) and more as a money grabbing exercise for Macquarie and it's partners.

I may have missed some posts but I think this is the first reference I see to saviour/saving QF.

Nice furphy.

 

[Yada Yada]

I may have missed some posts but I think this is the first reference I see to saviour/saving QF.

Nice furphy.

The reference comes from the artlice that Dave Noble linked in his post...

Bonderman and TPG have seen something in Qantas, although this is the first time they have invested in a major carrier that does not need rescuing.

 

[Dave Noble]

The reference comes from the artlice that Dave Noble linked in his post...

There is no reference in the article that says anything about saving Qantas, but explicitly states that they are investing in a carrier that doesn't need to be rescued but is one where they see potential to expand over the next 5 years .

Dave

 

[Mal]

It'll all work out ok. John Travolta has given his thumbs up

Qantas deal flies well | The Courier-Mail

Travolta said the takeover bid by the Airline Partners Australia consortium would have his support. "As long as Australia has the majority rule, I am happy," he said.

Now the really interesting part of the article is:

Acting Prime Minister Mark Vaile has said APA would have to guarantee to keep Qantas jobs and maintenance facilities in Australia to win Federal Government approval.