作者eslite12 (recta sequi)
看板Aviation
標題[新聞] 德航購併bmi
時間Thu Oct 30 02:19:39 2008
29.10.2008 BBC
BMI being taken over by Lufthansa
Lufthansa is buying the 50% of firm owned by BMI chairman Sir Michael Bishop,
who forced the purchase under a long-standing agreement. The German carrier was
already BMI's second-largest shareholder, with a stake of 30% minus one share.
The deal will give Lufthansa control of more flights from London Heathrow
airport than any other airline except British Airways.
Lufthansa accepted that the deal would have an impact on competition at the
UK's largest airport, but said it was for competition authorities to make a
decision on whether to approve the deal. The deal is set to be completed by 16
January - but the German firm would not confirm what it was paying for Sir
Michael's stake. Reports suggest it is about £318m.
The German airline signed an agreement with Sir Michael in 1999 that if he ever
wanted to sell his BMI stake, it would make the purchase.There had been growing
speculation in recent months that Sir Michael was keen to sell his share in the
business. Lufthansa, which on Tuesday announced its third-quarter net profit
had fallen by 75%, said it would "have to deal with" Sir Michael's decision,
which vice president for Europe, Karsten Benz, told the BBC "was not a surprise
".There has been speculation that parts of the BMI business will be sold off.
But Lufthansa refused to comment on Virgin Atlantic's suggestion that that BMI
and Virgin combine their short-haul and long-haul networks. There would be no
job cuts at BMI "for the time being" Mr Benz added, saying Lufthansa had
successfully integrated Swiss Airlines into the business and was confident of
doing the same with BMI.
BMI flew 10.6 million passengers last year and operates 54 aircraft. It
controls 11% of landing and take-off slots at Heathrow. Its two main hubs are
Heathrow and Manchester, but it also operates from 13 other UK airports. The
remaining 20% of BMI is currently owned by Sweden-based Scandinavian Airlines.
Industry observers say the Lufthansa-BMI deal considerably bolsters the German
carrier's position at Heathrow, where BA is planning to form an alliance with
American Airlines. Like almost all airlines, BMI has seen its profits hit this
year by the big rises in the price of aviation fuel in the first half of the
year. Rising fuel costs have led to a number of carriers seeking closer ties
with rivals, such as British Airways' plans for a tie-up with American Airlines.
Other airlines have had to cease operations, including Zoom, XL and Sterling.
Analysts said Lufthansa's relative financial strength,combined with the current
troubles in the airline industry, meant it had been able to go on something of
a bargain-hunting spending spree. Earlier this year, Lufthansa had bought a 45%
stake in Brussels Airlines. Lufthansa blamed its 75% fall in net profit for the
July to September period on higher fuel costs. However, aviation fuel is now
falling in price as it trails the recent sharp declines in crude oil costs.
--
※ 發信站: 批踢踢實業坊(ptt.cc)
◆ From: 59.117.12.90