APA Says It Has Shares Needed For Majority Control

Airline takeovers are seldom pretty... but when local media label the entire endeavour a "farce," that's rarely a good sign. Such was the case Monday, as The Australian newspaper reported on Airline Partners Australia's latest attempt to purchase national flag carrier Qantas.

The paper reports APA claims an obscure clause in its buyout proposal has given the buyout group majority control of the airline... even as the that proposal was shot down by the Takeovers Panel last week. APA says the clause forces shareholders who accepted its original proposal, to give the banking consortium all their shares in the airline.

The move follows a seesaw weekend news cycle, in which the bid was reported as dead -- then revived, as APA claimed shares acquired five hours after the formal deadline Friday should still count towards its offer -- then killed again, this time by the Qantas board of directors.

The group, led by Australia's Macquarie Bank, was due to meet with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission Monday, before announcing whether the group would bring the majority control issue before the court.

APA's stock claim led to a halt on trading of all Qantas shares, until the mess couild be sorted out. Unions at the airline threatened a protest of their own before the Takeover Panel, asking for a declaration of unacceptable conduct should APA force the issue.

Qantas board chairman Margaret Jackson, who endorsed APA's original failed bid, said the airline's board "regrets the current uncertainty, which is not of its making, and is determined to see the issues clarified as soon as possible."

As Aero-News reported, Qantas shareholders accepted APA's $11.1 billion (Australian) buyout bid last year.

Treasurer Peter Costello said APA should accept the original decision -- that the bid is dead, after a US hedge fund refused to sell its stake in Qantas, a move that would have given APA over 50 percent control of the carrier without resorting to legal wrangling.

"The shareholders, or a majority of the shareholders, did not accept the offer, and I think the board now has to make a statement as to where they stand and what they intend to do in relation to the company," he said.

Place yer bets...

FMI: www.qantas.com.au, www.airlinepartnersaustralia.com.au