Air NZ share trade halts ahead of Qantas deal announcement
Trading in Air New Zealand shares has been halted in Auckland ahead of an announcement on a deal with Qantas.
The Australian carrier is expected to take a 25 per cent stake in its rival.
Negotiations between the two airlines have been going on for months.
This morning Air New Zealand asked both the Australian and New Zealand stock exchanges to halt trading in its shares pending an announcement later today.
It is believed Qantas has agreed to buy a 25 per cent stake in Air New Zealand and committed to a national interest package that would see some Qantas engineering operations moved across the Tasman.
The competition commissions in both countries must still approve the deal.
Speculation has QANTAS moving from ONEWORLD to the STAR ALLIANCE, It is only speculation.
By: Saab 2000 - 25th November 2002 at 18:58
RE: QANTAS TO BUY SHARE IN AIR NZ
[updated:LAST EDITED ON 25-11-02 AT 06:58 PM (GMT)]I really cannot see Qantas leaving OneWord for Star,it is just pure speculation.
Qantas has a very close co-operation with British Airways with joint Singapore hub for Australia-Europe flights and code share agreements on the routes.Also close co-operation with American.
If you consider that American does not serve Australia, whereas United does with Star, then do you think Qantas wants to cut their frequencies on the lucrative Australia-US routes if they were to join Star?Then their is the problem of US regulations with the monopoly Star would have. Therefore,i’m sure joining Star would be a weight of problems for Qantas, however, with Oneworld they still have a big advantage.
With Air New Zealand joining OneWorld, what would the alliance gain?Nothing, what Qantas offer is effectively the same as Air New Zealand. I think NZ would be best off staying in Star.
By: monster500 - 25th November 2002 at 01:40
RE: QANTAS TO BUY SHARE IN AIR NZ
still needs ACCC and NZCCC approval, Hmm 777 no need to put the same info twice, my first post gets the message across.
By: 777crazy - 25th November 2002 at 01:36
RE: QANTAS TO BUY SHARE IN AIR NZ
SYDNEY (Reuters) – Australia’s Qantas Airways will announce on Monday that it has signed an agreement to take a stake of around 25 percent in Air New Zealand, a source close to the negotiations has told Reuters.
The much anticipated deal will see Qantas subscribe for new shares in Air NZ and the Australian carrier will also be offered two seats on Air New Zealand’s board, the source said on Sunday.
“They’ll be announcing the deal they’ve signed but they will still need the approval of competition authorities,” the source said, adding that the announcement is due mid-morning on Monday New Zealand time.
Air New Zealand is 82 percent owned by the New Zealand government after an NZ$850 million (270 million pound) rescue package finalised this year.
The company has forecast core earnings for the year to June 2003 of around NZ$200 million, but recently said it still needed around NZ$200 million in further capital.
Shares in Air NZ closed up one cent at NZ$0.50 on Friday while those of Qantas, which is partly owned by British Airways, were up eight cents at A$3.93 partly due to speculation that a tie-up between the two carriers was imminent.
Qantas said on Friday that talks between the two airlines were ongoing while Air NZ was unavailable for comment.
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November 24, 2002 at 11:18 pm