HAMPSON SELLS MACHINING BUSINESS
Hampson Industries has sold its UK aerospace machining business to Darwin Private Equity for £23.7 million ($38.8 million) in cash, leaving the group with about 60% of its revenue coming from aerospace tooling sales. The group will also focus on developing advanced composite components. Chief executive Kim Ward said the demand by large aerospace programmes for high-value tooling points to strong revenue growth during the second half of this year and into 2010-11. The divested business, which employs 300 people at sites at Alcester, Birmingham and Leicester to make turbine engine components, made a pre-tax profit £2.3 million on revenues of £28.3 million in the financial year to end March.
AIR FRANCE CHECKS CZECH BID
Air France-KLM has pulled out of the privatisation process for Czech Airlines, citing difficulties posed by the economic environment. The carrier, which still wants to "strengthen" its existing SkyTeam alliance relationship with Czech Airlines with unspecified "new areas of co-operation", had been shortlisted by the Czech government. Czech Airlines recently said it would seek a possible 860 redundancies as part of a restructuring plan that also involves a 10% reduction in its 50-strong fleet.
REPUBLIC PREVAILS IN FRONTIER BATTLE
Republic Airways' $108 million bid has won the battle to acquire Frontier Airlines, after Republic agreed to waive the distributions in the $150 million unsecured claim it logged under Frontier's Chapter 11 restructuring. Southwest Airlines had submitted a $170 million bid. Republic and Frontier had an Embraer 170 feeder agreement that terminated once Frontier declared Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in April 2008, and Republic is one of Frontier's largest unsecured creditors. Republic has also supplied Frontier $40 million in debtor-in-possession financing.
PZL SWIDNIK SOLD TO AGUSTAWESTLAND
AgustaWestland has beaten rival Aero Vodochody of the Czech Republic to purchase 87.6% of Polish helicopter and aerostructures maker PZL Swidnik from the Polish government for 329 million zlotys ($112.6 million), adding to the 6.2% it already owns. The acquisition is subject to antitrust approval and is expected to be completed by year-end. Pier Francesco Guarguaglini, chief executive of AgustaWestland parent Finmeccanica, says the deal opens access to new markets and fits because PZL's products are "highly complementary".
AIR CHINA TAKES CATHAY STAKE TOWARD 30%
Air China is to take its stake in Hong Kong-based Cathay Pacific Airways to just under 30% with a HK$6.33 billion ($817 million) acquisition of a 12.5% share from Citic Pacific, which is focusing on its core business and is selling another 2% to major Cathay Pacific stakeholder Swire Group. Air China and Cathay Pacific describe the changes as a "realignment" of their respective interests and a platform for further co-operation.
UNITED AIRCRAFT
In "United stance" (Flight International, 11-17 August) we inadvertently attributed a quote from an anonymous Russian aerospace executive criticising the United Aircraft organisation to Alexey Fedorov, United Aircraft chairman and president, who clearly does not share that view.
Source: Flight International
