A Singapore investment group has been thwarted in its attempt to take over Western Australia's largest regional carrier, Skywest Airlines.
A government watchdog blocked the takeover because of its concerns about leaked insider information. Skywest sacked its chief financial officer after learning he was on the payroll of the Singapore group and had been forwarding it financial data. The Takeover Panel concluded that the Singaporeans had access to information unavailable to other shareholders.
Skywest emerged from bankruptcy two years ago as an independent airline under new owners. Enduring losses in its first year, it restructured and showed a A$1.8 million ($1.3 million) net profit for the first half of this financial year. But the airline has since scaled back profit forecasts and delayed an initial public offering due to the takeover battle and Virgin Blue's recent entry on a key route.
Source: Airline Business
