Lufthansa nell'azionariato di JetBlue

[AeroDream Design]

E non poco, acquista il 19% delle azioni. Probabilmente mira a rafforzare la propria posizione nell'ottica di open sky USA-UE, apprestandosi ad offrire un numero ancora maggiore di connessioni negli Stati Uniti, con United e US Airways in Star Alliance e questo investimento in JetBlue che molto probabilmente porterà a degli accordi

Fonte: Flight International

Lufthansa buys stake in JetBlue
By Mary Kirby

Star Alliance member Lufthansa has agreed to acquire a 19% equity stake in US low-cost carrier JetBlue Airways.

The transaction, which has been approved by the boards of both companies, represents the first significant investment by a European airline in a US point-to-point carrier, say the airlines in a joint statement.

Under the terms of the agreement, Lufthansa will purchase in a private placement about 42 million newly issued common shares of JetBlue, or 19% of the New York JFK-based airline’s equity.

Lufthansa is acquiring the shares for $7.27 apiece, or a total of about $300 million. This represents a 16% premium to yesterday’s closing price of $6.25.

A Lufthansa nominee will be appointed to the JetBlue board upon closing of the transaction, which is expected to occur in the first quarter, pending regulatory review and approval.

Opportunities to further cooperate will be explored, say the airlines.

In addition to previously-announced discussions with Aer Lingus, JetBlue has made known its interest in forging potential new international partners. In April, JetBlue told FlightGlobal.com affiliate Air Transport Intelligence that its dominance at JFK gives the carrier a strong position in offering North American feed to the international airlines that serve JFK.

Today’s agreement “reaffirms our belief in JetBlue’s disciplined growth plan and will also improve our balance sheet and give us greater financial flexibility as we move into 2008”, says JetBlue CEO Dave Barger.

Lufthansa Group chairman and CEO Wolfgang Mayrhuber adds: “The transaction links two airlines with international reputations for quality, innovation and a service culture.”

 

[Blitz]

Come prenderanno questa mossa le alleate United e US Airways?

 

[malpensante]

Lufthansa buys stake in JetBlue
By Kevin Done in London and Justin Baer in New York

Published: December 13 2007 21:30 | Last updated: December 13 2007 21:30

Lufthansa, the German flag carrier and Europe’s second largest airline, is buying a stake of 19 per cent in JetBlue Airways, the US low cost airline, the first such move by a European network carrier.

The German group is paying around $300m for the holding, which will be bought through a private placement by JetBlue of approximately 42m new shares.

Lufthansa is acquiring the shares at $7.27 per share, representing a 16 per cent premium to Wednesday’s closing price of $6.25. It will have one director on the JetBlue board.

The German group is taking advantage both of the steep decline in the JetBlue share this year, which has more than halved, and of the weakness of the US dollar against the euro.

The transaction is the first significant investment by a European carrier in a US point-to-point airline, however, and marks an unusual departure by the German group.

“It does seem somewhat of a strange combination,” said Betsy Snyder, a director at Standard & Poor’s who follows the airline industry. “Lufthansa already has the relationship with United Airlines, which is a competitor to JetBlue on several routes.”

Lufthansa and JetBlue represented different kinds of airlines, both operationally and culturally, she said. Lufthansa was a giant legacy carrier with global reach, while JetBlue was a domestic upstart that had found a niche marrying cheap tickets with some frills including leather seats and live television.

“If you were going to think about anyone making an investment in JetBlue, Lufthansa isn’t the first name that would come to mind,” she said.

The JetBlue board’s decision in May to replace founder David Neeleman as chief executive with Dave Barger has brought about changes to the airline.

The company has scaled back its expansion plans, added new executives from other airlines, changed its policies for handling bad weather and begun listing flights on reservation systems and online travel services.

Wolfgang Mayrhuber, Lufthansa chief executive, said on Thursday the investment presented Lufthansa with “a compelling opportunity to invest in the US point-to-point carrier market as the industry continues to evolve.”

Dave Barger, JetBlue chief executive, said the deal provided support for the group’s “disciplined growth plan and will also improve our balance sheet and give us greater financial flexibility as we move into 2008.”

Lufthansa said in a statement that both airlines also looked forward “to exploring potential opportunities for further co-operation” but said that no specific areas of potential co-operation had been agreed.

JetBlue shareholder approval is not required for the deal, but it will have to be reviewed and approved by US regulators. The deal is expected to close in the first quarter of 2008.

The US airline had a market capitalisation of $1.1bn at the Wednesday closing price of $6.25 a share, and would be valued at $1.6bn at the price of $7.27 a share being paid by Lufthansa.

JetBlue was founded in 1999 by David Neeleman, the group’s chairman. It is headquartered at New York’s JFK airport and started flying in February 2000.

It has a dense network out of the highly congested JFK airport with the second largest holding of take off and landing slots after Delta Air Lines with a particular strength on routes along the US east coast.

For Lufthansa it could act as an interesting source of feeder traffic for its routes from New York to Germany and in particular to its hubs at Frankfurt and Munich.

Under strict US limits on foreign ownership of US carriers it will be restricted to taking a minority stake with voting rights of less than 25 per cent, however.

Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2007

 

[malpensante]

For JetBlue it's about the money; for Lufthansa investment may mean more

Monday December 17, 2007

While JetBlue Airways executives continued to insist that Lufthansa's eye-opening $309.6 million investment in the New York-based LCC was nothing but a financial transaction, Lufthansa revealed Friday that it may have more strategic goals in mind.

"They're a premium product supplier. They have a stronghold along the East Coast that we wouldn't find elsewhere, and they're very complementary to our routes and our alliance partners," LH CEO Wolfgang Mayrhuber was quoted as saying at a Friday news conference.

The hours following the announcement that LH would take a 19% stake in JetBlue, paying $7.27 per share for 42.6 million new shares, was rife with speculation about the motives behind the deal. While analysts questioned the decision on both sides of the Atlantic, Mayrhuber made it clear that JetBlue's extensive US network, LH's low transfer traffic and a presence in New York that Star Alliance partners United Airlines and US Airways cannot provide were factors in the decision to invest. LH approached JetBlue toward the end of the summer, JetBlue CEO Dave Barger said.

"Kennedy is a second Heathrow. It shouldn't be undervalued," Mayrhuber said. "A financial investment in JetBlue is something interesting, but it wouldn't have been sufficient. We wanted something of strategic importance for the two companies." He said JetBlue's market position as an airline that delivers inflight perks to its passengers would not "disappoint" a "Lufthansa customer who expects a premium product."

He also acknowledged that the capital infusion will help JetBlue deal with a moribund balance sheet, which appears to have been what attracted the LCC to the negotiating table. It suffered net losses of $1 million in 2006 and $20.3 million in 2005 and faces the mounting debt associated with rapid expansion.

"This investment by a stable and experienced investor will deliver immediate financial benefits to JetBlue. It will improve our balance sheet and give us greater financial flexibility," Barger said in a conference call with analysts. "We plan to use the proceeds for working capital needs, including the repayment of current obligations."

Barger said he did not foresee any initial strategic benefits to the German carrier. JetBlue's interest in an alliance remains limited to its effort to cement a transatlantic marketing relationship with Aer Lingus, which Barger said would be finalized "in the very, very near future." The LCC's new Terminal 5 at JFK was not designed to accommodate Lufthansa's widebody aircraft or a full customs area, and Barger reiterated that there is no codeshare or interline agreement between the airlines. "Our goal is still one of organic growth," he said. "We were certainly looking at liquidity opportunities both this year and next year and this was certainly one of those opportunities and it seemed like the right one."

by Brian Straus
ATWOnline