Post by corsair67 on May 7, 2007 10:34:41 GMT 12
APA should face facts: they didn't do enough to convince all shareholders that their offer was good enough. And the offer closed at 5pm, not 7pm - Bloody cowboys! 
Now watch the heads roll at QANTAS!
From today's The Australian.
Qantas declares bid dead
Steve Creedy and Glenda Korporaal
May 07, 2007.
THE Qantas board last night declared the $11.1 billion bid for the national carrier dead, despite indications that the Macquarie Bank-led consortium was still attempting to get the deal over the line.
"Airline Partners Australia announced that it did not receive acceptances representing at least 50 per cent of Qantas shares by the 7pm deadline (on Friday) and therefore the APA offer could not proceed," the airline said last night in a short statement.
"While APA has made several regulatory applications over the weekend, the Qantas board considers that the current bid has failed. Accordingly, Qantas will proceed with strategies and plans for its future."
The Qantas statement, issued after a board meeting last night, is likely to herald a sharp drop in the airline's share price when trading opens this morning.
The Australian Securities Exchange, which will closely monitor the situation, is prepared to suspend Qantas stock if it believes the market is not fully informed about developments that could affect the share price.
Qantas's board had been under increasing pressure to make known its views on the developments in the takeover bid.
But while Qantas declared the bid dead, APA was fighting on.
Last night, the Takeovers Panel and the Australian Securities and Investments Commission were reviewing appeals from the consortium, despite both earlier dismissing initial approaches to allow shares that arrived after the Friday deadline to be counted.
"ASIC has received more than one application from the bidders," an ASIC spokeswoman said.
APA came under increasing attack yesterday as Qantas unions and the Australian Shareholders Association called on it to heed the umpire's decision and let the bid fail.
The unions have warned they are prepared to join dissident shareholders in fighting the consortium if it continues to look for legal loopholes to keep the bid alive. "They've lost," Shareholders Association deputy chairman Stephen Matthews said. "They should take it on the chin, forget about it and get on with the next one."
APA all but declared the deal dead on Friday when, after a parcel of shares from US corporate raider Samuel Heyman failed to arrive by the 7pm deadline, it was unable to get a 50 per cent controlling stake. But five hours later, when Mr Heyman's shares finally arrived, APA decided to keep the bid alive. The parcel gave the consortium 50.6per cent of the national carrier, which would have been enough to get it over the line and give it a two-week automatic extension.
APA had expected to receive the Heyman shares, even though his New York-based fund said it never gave such a commitment.
The consortium sought reviews over the weekend by the Takeovers Panel and ASIC as it desperately tried to reverse the bid condition that the offer close at 7pm on Friday.
After being rebuffed by both, it yesterday tried again.
The Takeovers Panel had earlier said that closing the offer in accordance with APA's public statements had not had an impact on "the efficient, competitive or informed market for Qantas shares" and did not give rise to unacceptable circumstances.
The Takeovers Panel made it clear that the market was well informed about when the bid was due to close and the fact it would fail if APA did not receive 50 per cent acceptance by the deadline.
It said Mr Heyman was a sophisticated shareholder who should have been well aware of the closing time and date of the offer as well as the implications of not meeting the deadline. The Heyman fund this weekend rejected suggestions that it had sabotaged the bid or given any guarantees that it would deliver its parcel of shares.
"While we have consistently indicated to advisers that this has always been a close call for us, we are hopeful that our tender will facilitate the successful completion of this transaction," said Jim Hoffman, chief investment officer of Heyman Investment Associates.
APA appeared to confirm this last night, saying it did not believe that Heyman Properties had reneged on any commitment in relation to the offer.
But the ASA's Mr Matthews said the fact that a shareholder could not get acceptance in on time was no reason to allow the financially engineered bid to continue. "If retail investors are late lodging their acceptances for rights issues or offers under share purchase plans they don't get a second chance, and neither should APA," Mr Matthews said.
He welcomed the Takeovers Panel's decision, saying any other would have undermined the international credibility of Australia's financial markets.
Now watch the heads roll at QANTAS!
From today's The Australian.
Qantas declares bid dead
Steve Creedy and Glenda Korporaal
May 07, 2007.
THE Qantas board last night declared the $11.1 billion bid for the national carrier dead, despite indications that the Macquarie Bank-led consortium was still attempting to get the deal over the line.
"Airline Partners Australia announced that it did not receive acceptances representing at least 50 per cent of Qantas shares by the 7pm deadline (on Friday) and therefore the APA offer could not proceed," the airline said last night in a short statement.
"While APA has made several regulatory applications over the weekend, the Qantas board considers that the current bid has failed. Accordingly, Qantas will proceed with strategies and plans for its future."
The Qantas statement, issued after a board meeting last night, is likely to herald a sharp drop in the airline's share price when trading opens this morning.
The Australian Securities Exchange, which will closely monitor the situation, is prepared to suspend Qantas stock if it believes the market is not fully informed about developments that could affect the share price.
Qantas's board had been under increasing pressure to make known its views on the developments in the takeover bid.
But while Qantas declared the bid dead, APA was fighting on.
Last night, the Takeovers Panel and the Australian Securities and Investments Commission were reviewing appeals from the consortium, despite both earlier dismissing initial approaches to allow shares that arrived after the Friday deadline to be counted.
"ASIC has received more than one application from the bidders," an ASIC spokeswoman said.
APA came under increasing attack yesterday as Qantas unions and the Australian Shareholders Association called on it to heed the umpire's decision and let the bid fail.
The unions have warned they are prepared to join dissident shareholders in fighting the consortium if it continues to look for legal loopholes to keep the bid alive. "They've lost," Shareholders Association deputy chairman Stephen Matthews said. "They should take it on the chin, forget about it and get on with the next one."
APA all but declared the deal dead on Friday when, after a parcel of shares from US corporate raider Samuel Heyman failed to arrive by the 7pm deadline, it was unable to get a 50 per cent controlling stake. But five hours later, when Mr Heyman's shares finally arrived, APA decided to keep the bid alive. The parcel gave the consortium 50.6per cent of the national carrier, which would have been enough to get it over the line and give it a two-week automatic extension.
APA had expected to receive the Heyman shares, even though his New York-based fund said it never gave such a commitment.
The consortium sought reviews over the weekend by the Takeovers Panel and ASIC as it desperately tried to reverse the bid condition that the offer close at 7pm on Friday.
After being rebuffed by both, it yesterday tried again.
The Takeovers Panel had earlier said that closing the offer in accordance with APA's public statements had not had an impact on "the efficient, competitive or informed market for Qantas shares" and did not give rise to unacceptable circumstances.
The Takeovers Panel made it clear that the market was well informed about when the bid was due to close and the fact it would fail if APA did not receive 50 per cent acceptance by the deadline.
It said Mr Heyman was a sophisticated shareholder who should have been well aware of the closing time and date of the offer as well as the implications of not meeting the deadline. The Heyman fund this weekend rejected suggestions that it had sabotaged the bid or given any guarantees that it would deliver its parcel of shares.
"While we have consistently indicated to advisers that this has always been a close call for us, we are hopeful that our tender will facilitate the successful completion of this transaction," said Jim Hoffman, chief investment officer of Heyman Investment Associates.
APA appeared to confirm this last night, saying it did not believe that Heyman Properties had reneged on any commitment in relation to the offer.
But the ASA's Mr Matthews said the fact that a shareholder could not get acceptance in on time was no reason to allow the financially engineered bid to continue. "If retail investors are late lodging their acceptances for rights issues or offers under share purchase plans they don't get a second chance, and neither should APA," Mr Matthews said.
He welcomed the Takeovers Panel's decision, saying any other would have undermined the international credibility of Australia's financial markets.
