News Corporation's efforts to sell Ansett New Zealand may have better luck with a new group of New Zealand investors than it has had over the past 12 years with Qantas Airways.
News Corp and Qantas were unable to agree on a price, and there is no assurance the new players will either, but this is the first movement in the ownership stalemate since News Corp reluctantly took over Ansett NZ 12 years ago.
According to local reports, Auckland merchant banker David Belcher has assembled a group of investors, including his own company, Clavell Capital, and offered to buy Ansett NZ for an undisclosed price. In previous talks, News Corp sought at least NZ$90 million ($45 million), but Qantas was only willing to pay NZ$50 million.
Ansett NZ has lost money for the past two years and has accumulated losses of NZ$250 million. In October it won a drawn-out dispute with its pilots that will boost productivity and save the carrier nearly NZ$5 million a year. Only now is it returning to normal after months of labour unrest.
The showdown with its pilots was part of the company's plan to return to profitability and make itself more attractive to buyers. During that dispute, Ansett NZ told its pilots that a sale was "essential to the company's long-term commercial success".
If the airline is sold, it is likely that its commercial links with Qantas will continue. The two carriers feed trans-Tasman traffic to and from each other in competition with Air New Zealand.
Source: Airline Business
