ATW Online; Monday December 5, 2016
CityJet calls off Stobart Air acquisition talks
Quote:
Irish regional airline CityJet has withdrawn from talks to acquire UK regional Stobart Air, formerly known as Aer Arann, saying the negotiations were taking too long.
“In my experience, most significant corporate transactions have a certain life and, if completion is not reached within that window, the dynamics shift and people tend to move on. Naturally, we are very disappointed as we have been highly motivated to try to finalize this deal. We saw Stobart Air as a really good fit for our growing business,” CityJet executive chairman and CEO Pat Byrne said.
This is the first time CityJet has officially confirmed the talks, although the deal was known to be on the table. CityJet was negotiating the potential acquisition of Stobart Air and the operation of services from London Southend Airport. Both the airline and the airport are owned by UK logistics company Stobart Group.
“The process became protracted over several months and, in the circumstances, we presented Stobart with a deadline for completion. The deadline lapsed this morning [Dec. 5] and, consequently, we have withdrawn from the process. It is unfortunate that it has not been possible to reach agreement with Stobart. CityJet will continue to develop our aggressive growth strategy in Europe, but regrettably this will not now include the acquisition of Stobart Air,” Byrne said.
Stobart Air operates Aer Lingus Regional flights on behalf of Aer Lingus under a franchise agreement. Stobart has 17 aircraft in its fleet, all but two of them ATR 72s, plus two ATR 42s. Stobart Group recently detailed plans to take full ownership of leasing company Propius Holdings, which supplies Stobart Air with around half of its fleet of regional turboprops. Stobart already owned 67% of Cayman Islands-registered Propius and is buying the remaining 33% from Irish carrier Aer Lingus for $14.7 million in cash.
Stobart Air was not available for comment.
By: Victoria Moores
Viewers of the Nature programme "Planet Earth 2" series may recall feelings about "the one that got away". Like yesterday when a big bull managed to escape the attack lounged by two lionesses and their three cubs.
But is CityJet actually big enough to prey on Stobart Air? From the reading of the report, one could say Stobart Air only tried to be polite to listen to what CityJet had to say, then quietly waited for them to leave the table when the silence got too loud.