PAUL PHELAN / CAIRNS
Tesna consortium backs out of planned purchase with just two days to spare
Solomon Lew and Lindsay Fox, the Australian businessmen leading the Tesna consortium, walked away from their planned A$3 billion ($1.54 billion) buyout of Ansetton 27 March, just two days before the scheduled handover by its administrators.
Ansett was on the brink of liquidation as Flight International went to press, although its administrators were desperately seeking an alternative buyer. Ansett was expected to continue flying until midnight on 4 March.
Virgin Blue and stevedoring operator Chris Corrigan's Patrick Corp may jointly buy some Ansett assets, including engineering facilities, terminal space and simulators, while Qantas has confirmed its interest in the Melbourne-headquartered airline's maintenance and engineering facilities.
Patrick declines to comment on a possible merger with Virgin Blue, but Corrigan says that its original offer for Ansett had "never been withdrawn". Singapore Airlines, which offered A$500 million for Ansett in 1999, is also believed to be interested in some assets.
Fox and Lew blamed the collapse on "issues including environmental risk liabilities associated with terminal leases, and unforeseen costs of up to A$20 million to take over Ansett's AN designator code".
Industry sources, however, believe that potential Tesna backers pulled out because they doubted Ansett could succeed against Virgin Blue and Qantas.
The collapse of the deal leaves 3,000 Ansett workers again unemployed, while creditors are angry at the decision. It appears that unsecured creditors are unlikely to be paid anything.
Tesna is estimated to have spent about A$30 million on due-diligence procedures and was losing about A$6 million a week on Ansett operations.
Qantas chief executive Geoff Dixon was quick to assure the Australian government and public that the carrier could cope with the loss of Ansett and that fares would not rise as a result.
Former Ansett-owned regional carriers Hazelton and Kendell Airlines, which are under two separate administrators, will continue to operate. The two administrators are considering a plan to merge the airlines ahead of a sale (Flight International, 26 February - 4 March).
Source: Flight International
