US Airways Equity Plan Sponsor Update

C

chipmunn

Guest

[P align=justify][FONT face=Times New Roman size=3]US Airways Equity Plan Sponsor Update[BR][/FONT]
[FONT face=Times New Roman size=3][BR]October 17 – CLT Observer:[/FONT][FONT face=Times New Roman size=3] About 30 people have shown interest, 10 have followed up, and two or three will show up next week to do real work, David Bronner, chief executive of the Retirement Systems of Alabama, said in an interview Thursday. He said the airline wouldn't identify the potential bidders.[BR][/FONT][FONT face=Times New Roman size=3][BR]November 13 – Bloomberg News:[/FONT][FONT face=Times New Roman size=3] US Airways Group Inc., which filed for bankruptcy protection in August, has talked with private equity firms interested in bidding for an ownership stake in the airline, Chief Executive Officer David Siegel said. The Retirement Systems of Alabama state pension fund, which offered $240 million for a 38 percent stake in the seventh-largest U.S. airline, still is the front-runner, he told reporters after speaking in New York to the Wings Club, an aviation advocacy group. Siegel wouldn't identify the companies US Airways talked to or say whether any bids have been made. The bid deadline in the bankruptcy process is Friday. [BR][/FONT][FONT face=Times New Roman size=3][BR]November 15 – US Airways Statement:[/FONT][FONT face=Times New Roman size=3] Deadline Nears - The close of business today is the deadline for bidders to submit competing plan proposals as US Airways’ reorganization equity sponsor. In a statement today regarding the status of equity bids US Airways said: Given our obligation to conduct this process properly, we will not be in a position to comment, confirm or speculate today about whether other bidders have stepped forward to replace The Retirement Systems of Alabama. We expect to make an announcement next week.[BR][/FONT][FONT face=Times New Roman size=3][BR]Chip comments:[/FONT][FONT face=Times New Roman size=3] Any Equity Plan Sponsor (EPS) bid must be equal to or higher than the RSA offer and according to the company be labor friendly. US Airways must submit its choice from the Equity Plan Sponsor bidders to the court by November 25. It appears US Airways is having discussions with potential bidders, but for some reason the airline has elected to not go public with its decision on whether or not to reach an agreement with interested private investors. The Chicago Tribune reported on November 7 that Texas financier David Bonderman, California oilman Marvin Davis and billionaire investor George Soros head the three groups expected to bid for United if the Elk Grove Township-based carrier is forced to seek bankruptcy protection, airline officials said. Both Bonderman’s Texas Pacific Group (TPG) and Davis, who has partnered with Mesa Airline CEO Jonathan Davis, recently submitted bids for US Airways. Reports indicate TPG and the Davis/Ornstein group may have revisited their efforts to invest in both US Airways and United as the EPS. Regardless, US Airways said in a statement it expects to make to make an announcement next week. The question is why can’t the airline comment now and what is occurring behind the scenes, both internal and external to the company?[BR][BR]Chip[/FONT][/P]
 
Chip:

It is likely that some or all of the the bidders demanded confidentiality as part of any negotiations. Situations like this often include a variety of individuals both within and outside the industry who would be at risk if their contribution to a bidder's effort was made public.
 
Chip,
Do you have the information regarding the pension shortfall attributable to APLA?
 
Deadline for US Air bids passes, no word on winner[BR][BR][A href=http://biz.yahoo.com/rf/021115/airlines_usairways_2.html]http://biz.yahoo.com/rf/021115/airlines_usairways_2.html[/A][BR]
 
Avek, your comments make sense or it could be an interesting and maybe a busy weekend at CCY.[BR][BR]Chip
 
Every year US actuary firm Towers & Perrin provides previous year corporate pension funding information in July. The information is reviewed by the company and provided to union R&I personnel in September.[BR][BR]For 2001, as of last Thursday the company has not released the pension information to the unions.[BR][BR]Chip
 
Delldude:

I have heard there have been discussions with Lufthansa & US Airways and presumably this has to do with the Star decision to bring US into the alliance ASAP. After US selected UA as its alliance partner, management elected to first complete the domestic integration before working on the Star alliance, but it appears things have changed. I envision a much deeper cooperation between each of the Star alliance partners moving forward than just code sharing. It appears the maintenance work could be just the beginning.

In regard to Mr. Wolf and the German bank, I have no knowledge of any improprieties.

Dell, what does the acronym FAB stand for?

Chip
 
chip:lufthansa was in PIT FAB thursday....they supposedly want a partner for CFM-3 minor work here in the states.they also were to look at Northwest facilities in Atlanta. they apparently liked what they saw in PIT and are to bring a VP back soon. someone told me they are tied in through Wolfe and some bank in Germany thats under investigation along with Wolfe.you know anything about these dealings?