Lufthansa vil selge aksjeposten i bmi

[MD90]

LONDON, Jan 25 (Reuters) - German airline Lufthansa hopes to sell its holding in unlisted UK carrier bmi to escape a clause that could force it to buy a 229-million pound ($431 million) stake, a British newspaper reported on Tuesday.

Lufthansa has approached British Airways and Virgin Atlantic about selling its 30 percent stake, the Daily Telegraph said, without citing its sources.

Under a deal signed in 1999 with bmi Chairman Sir Michael Bishop, the German airline would have to honour a put option which Bishop holds allowing him to sell his stake to Lufthansa.

An industry source confirmed Bishop, who controls 50 percent of the airline plus one share, could exercise the option this year.

The source confirmed the stake could be worth 229 million pounds.

Lufthansa declined to comment when contacted by Reuters.

BA declined to comment on whether it had been approached but has repeatedly said it is not interested in owning minority stakes in airlines. BA last year sold its share in Australia's Qantas Airways.

"Our view is that minority stakes in other airlines do not give sufficient control, regulatory hurdles remain in place and allow for little or no true consolidation," a BA spokesman said.

However, Richard Branson's Virgin Atlantic has long been keen to forge closer ties with bmi.

"There is still a deal to be done," a Virgin spokeswoman said, but declined to comment on whether it had been approached by Lufthansa.

Bmi has recorded two years of losses after a downturn in long-haul travel following the September 2001 attacks on New York, but its deputy chief executive, Tim Bye, told Reuters on Thursday it expected to report a break even result for calendar 2004 and 2005.

Virgin and bmi were in talks last year on a possible deal, but Bishop later denied he had plans to sell his controlling stake. Branson has said he remains keen on a deal.

Bmi is a valuable acquisition target for Virgin as the carrier holds the second-largest number of sought-after take-off and landing slots at London's congested Heathrow airport behind BA.

Spokesmen for Bishop and bmi declined to comment but said a statement may be issued later Tuesday.

Scandinavian airline SAS owns 20 percent of bmi.


REUTERS

[CK]

om bmi kommer i spill kan det kanskje skje noe med SAS Gruppens 20% andel i bmi. Å sitte med 20% i BD er lite interessant. SAS får enten selge seg ut (til den som kjøper LHs aksjer - kjøperen vil vel være mer interessert i 50% (minus én aksje) enn 30%), eller legge penger på bordet å kjøpe tilbake de 20% SAS solgte til LH, pluss de resterende 10%. Sir Michael Bishop sitter vel fremdeles på 50% + én aksje?

[MD90]

Jo, Bishop vil helt sikkert sitte med en ørliten majoritet. Men hva kan han lokke med foruten noen dyrebare slots på LHR? Ikke har BD vist noe særlig overskudd de siste årene, og selv om de nå vil satse interkont kan det ikke være noen enorm pengebinge akkurat. Men kanskje kan Singapore Airlines være interessert i direkte eierskap? Branson og Bishop finner i alle fall ikke tonen.

[CK]

LHR-slot'ene (BD er vel nr2 etter BA tror jeg) er verdt en god slump penger, inter-kont delen deres.... nja, jeg er ikke så sikker. Har UK behov for TRE interkontselskaper - BA, VS og BD?? I don't think so. Det er jo mange som har sett de gode nettvkerseffektene mellom bmi og Virgin Atlantic, og jeg tror bmis produkt kler Branson bedre enn bommerten Virgin Express

[Blubird]

bmi er vel tross alt Heathrow's nest største bruker, så de slots bmi har er nok verdt ikke rent så lite...

[MD90]

LONDON, Jan 26 (Reuters) - Sir Michael Bishop, half-owner of UK airline bmi, is unlikely to sell his stake in the carrier in the short term, industry sources said on Wednesday amid speculation about the company's ownership.

Under a deal signed in 1999 between bmi and Germany's Lufthansa, Bishop has the right to exercise a put option this year which would force the German carrier to buy his stake in bmi for around 229 million pounds ($429.8 million).

Bishop owns 50 percent plus one share of bmi, formerly known as British Midland. Lufthansa owns 30 percent and Scandinavian airline SAS has the remaining 20 percent.

An industry source said it was highly unlikely Bishop would sell as the airline was now recovering from two years of losses and following a management shake-up.

Speculation about the future of Bishop's stake came after the Daily Telegraph newspaper said on Tuesday that Lufthansa had approached British Airways and Virgin Atlantic about selling its stake in bmi.

Another source dismissed the possibility of BA buying Lufthansa's stake in bmi.

Virgin Atlantic also reportedly rejected Lufthansa's approach but said it remained interested in forging closer ties with bmi.

Bmi has recorded two years of losses after a downturn in long-haul travel following the September 2001 attacks on New York, but told Reuters last week it expected to report a break even result for calendar 2004 and 2005.

Bmi is a valuable acquisition target for Virgin as the short-haul carrier holds the second-largest number of sought-after takeoff and landing slots at London's congested Heathrow airport behind BA.

Lufthansa and bmi declined to comment.

REUTERS

[EB]

Vil BA få lov til å kjøpe bmi????

[Isbamse]

Originally posted by EB
Vil BA få lov til å kjøpe bmi????

Så lenge Jomfruatlanteren og Ryanair er på hugget vil jeg tro det.
(Gøy å synse!)

[CK]

Lufthansa, SAS to consider selling stakes in bmi
(Source : Aviation Daily, January 26, 2005)


Lufthansa and the SAS Group are considering selling their stakes in bmi, industry sources said Tuesday. Continuing losses at the carrier, an unfavorable joint-venture agreement and the potential sale of chairman Michael Bishop's majority stake are seen as key factors behind the scenes. Virgin emerged as the most obvious candidate for a takeover. But according to the sources, any deal would have to sort out the complex set of conditions that are part of the original shareholder agreement. BMI is majority-owned by Bishop, who holds 50% plus one share. Lufthansa has 30% minus one share and SAS holds 20%. BMI's most valuable assets are its slots at London Heathrow, 14% of the total slots available at the airport. Star Alliance holds 23% of slots, while 48% is held by oneworld. Star Alliance is eager to secure access to BMI's Heathrow slots because they could be used for a significant increase in Star's long-haul services once the restrictive Bermuda II agreement is replaced by a wider open-skies deal between the US and the EU.
Full Story http://www.aviationnow.com/avnow/news/channel_aviationdaily_story.jsp?id=news/BMI01265.xml

[CK]

danske Børsen skriver i dag at SAS kan få inntil en milliard kroner for sine aksjer i bmi, og Sture Stølen, sjef for investor relations, sier til avisen "For SAS er aktierne i Bmi en ren finansiel investering, så hvis vi kan få en god pris, er vi absolut villige til at sælge,"