QANTAS being taken over by Macquarie Bank..

[oz_mark]

Interesting quote in trhe SMH article about the bid being revived.

Qantas bid back in play - Business - Business - smh.com.au

.....

Market analyst Professor Justin O'Brian from the Centre for Applied Philosophy and Public Ethics also told the ABC the board of Qantas had some serious questions to answer about its advice to shareholders.

"I think the market will look very, very closely at whether or not the board of Qantas, in actual fact, read the market effectively, read where private equity was happening on a global basis and whether or not what they were putting forward to the shareholders of Qantas was actually in the best interest of the corporation,'' he said.

"It does seem that the market has said quite emphatically that the board of Qantas has got it wrong.''

.....

 

[simongr]

I would hope that the takeover panels enforces the deadline, I think to do otherwise could se a bad precendent and send the wrong signals. There is enough shonky maneuvering around during takeovers without intoriducing flexible deadlines.

I am intrigued about how the late acceptance came about.

I just dont know where the benefit in creating an artificial deadline is - I understand that legally the deadline has to be enforced - but what drives mos value to shareholders - the bid having an enforced dealine and failing or the bid having a flexible deadline and succeeding...

I just wish this could get resolved and we could get back to flying again...

 

[macca172]

Yes this is a classic case of "kicking the goal after the full time whistle"! If the board lets this go through, Im sad to say not only will be a sad day for Australian aviation, but also a VERY sad day for the ethics of the Australian stock exchange watchdogs...proberty must come first to maintain creditability!

Macca

 

[PaulZ]

Yes this is a classic case of "kicking the goal after the full time whistle"! If the board lets this go through, Im sad to say not only will be a sad day for Australian aviation, but also a VERY sad day for the ethics of the Australian stock exchange watchdogs...proberty must come first to maintain creditability!

Macca

Even if they do let it go through (which i doubt)... Watch out for the Treasurer. It would be an easy way for him to block a takeover the government probably never even wanted in the first place and appeal to the electorate.

 

[oz_mark]

I just dont know where the benefit in creating an artificial deadline is - I understand that legally the deadline has to be enforced - but what drives mos value to shareholders - the bid having an enforced dealine and failing or the bid having a flexible deadline and succeeding...

Not sure this is a question for the takeovers panel to decide.

 

[QF WP]

THE federal Government will take the future of the Takeovers Panel to the High Court in a bid to reinforce its role as the primary arbiter of takeover disputes.

The current power of the statutory body to judge breaches of the Corporations Act has been declared unconstitutional by the Federal Court, creating huge uncertainty for takeover practitioners amid a boom in corporate activity. The decision effectively leaves the panel muted, with scope only to declare unacceptable circumstances during a bid on issues of company control.


How about that to take the wind out of APA's sails ....I can't see any unacceptable circumstances during the bid (only the APA's jiggery pokery). Whilst this is directly relevant to another current bid, it serves notice to APA.

 

[QF WP]

Just found this story - was this where the "missing" shares came from after the 7pm deadline??:

No one could believe it. Just before 7pm last night, the team at Macquarie Bank sent a final message to Samuel Heyman, the man behind the giant global hedge fund in New York holding $1 billion worth of Qantas shares. Where was the acceptance?...

What were they doing leaving it so late with one of their largest suitors I'd have had one of my team sitting on his shoulders all week in NYC whispering in his ear "sign here" and been ready by the fax machine...

 

[oz_mark]

So that's where the extra came from. The hedge funds wanted to get this to just over 50% so they can make money in the next two weeks. A slight miscalculation meant it was under 50%, so they come back after the bell and say we accept lets play for another two weeks.

The umpire needs to kill this off.

 

[macca172]

All,

Im no financial or stock market guru, my line of business is aviation consultancy. With that said, what do you consider the QF share price will open at on Monday and the trend during the days trading will be?

Do any of you think it could fall below the $3.00 mark?


Macca

 

[QF WP]

Hedge funds sank Airline Partners Australia's $11 billion bid for Qantas, and when the sharemarket opens on Monday they will sink the airline's share price, too...

 

[Tooner]

THE federal Government will take the future of the Takeovers Panel to the High Court in a bid to reinforce its role as the primary arbiter of takeover disputes.

The current power of the statutory body to judge breaches of the Corporations Act has been declared unconstitutional by the Federal Court, creating huge uncertainty for takeover practitioners amid a boom in corporate activity. The decision effectively leaves the panel muted, with scope only to declare unacceptable circumstances during a bid on issues of company control.


How about that to take the wind out of APA's sails ....I can't see any unacceptable circumstances during the bid (only the APA's jiggery pokery). Whilst this is directly relevant to another current bid, it serves notice to APA.

The question will probably end up in court anyway, depending on the exact wording of the takeover documents, and what the law says about late acceptances. ASIC may have a big say on this one itself.

Personally, I think the shares should be suspended on Monday until the fate of the takeover is determined, one way or the other. Even then, the extent of selling will depend on how many hedge funds still hold shares (given the turnover in recent days).

 

[Kendall Roy]

Pilots to APA "P*%S off"

Now takeover has failed, go away: pilots - Breaking News - National - Breaking News

 

[d15.in.oz]

So, this just past last minute stunt… is it a deliberate/polite way for "the players" to understand the federal government’s position on the takeover? i.e. the government appointed* takeover panel says yes if the government is happy with the post-takeover plan, or no if it is not…

* "...Panel members are appointed by the Governor General, on the nomination of the Minister, under s172 of the ASIC Act." - Takeover Panel

 

[Commuter]

Has anyone read an interesting article about Qantas takeover and safety concerns by Dr Boyd Falconer? I can't remember the mag now, but it sure was quite an interesting article.

That aside, I'm seriously considering changing over to BA Executive Club.

 

[Mal]

Looking at the APA release lodged with the ASX last week, I think things are pretty clear:

(30/04/2007 APA offer will lapse unless 50% acceptances rec'd by Friday)

It contains the following text:

However APA warned that its offer would close unsuccessfully unless acceptances representing at least 50% of Qantas shares are received by 7.00pm this Friday (4 May 2007).

There is a postscript involved, but it only mentions extending the offer if the 50% is obtained.

Hopefully this will be sorted out by the powers that be - but not in APA's favour... 7pm is 7pm to me. Not 2am, not 6am, not even 23:59pm.

 

[Kendall Roy]

One thinks they'll make some smart cough comment along the lines of "Oh sorry, we were running off PER time"

 

[Commuter]

Or worse, UTC.

 

[Tooner]

Not to forget, the foreign exchange day ends at 5:00pm New York time (7:00 am here)

 

[oz_mark]

Looking at the APA release lodged with the ASX last week, I think things are pretty clear:

(30/04/2007 APA offer will lapse unless 50% acceptances rec'd by Friday)

It contains the following text:



There is a postscript involved, but it only mentions extending the offer if the 50% is obtained.

Hopefully this will be sorted out by the powers that be - but not in APA's favour... 7pm is 7pm to me. Not 2am, not 6am, not even 23:59pm.

Exactly how a jetstar check-in agent would interpret it

 

[Takeshi]

You have got to be kidding, are there any legal eagles here ?

Surely this must not be allowed by the Takeovers Panel.

The Hedge Funds stood to lose a fortune so they decided, ok I will keep the bid alive by accepting past the deadline.

Its exactly like I just backed a horse for a $1000, but it lost, ok I want my money back.
No different in my oppinion.

This whole thing has become a circus.
APA should go away.

If this bid is allowed by the government I would think that Qantas staff will go nuts, and I can see industrial action in a big way.
These idiots from the Millionares factory want everything there own way, bending rules as they go.
They are going to kill a perfectly good company.