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DealBook: Ryanair Indicates Regulators Will Reject Aer Lingus Deal

February 12, 2013 by Leave a Comment

Ryanair, the discount European airline, is preparing for a fight with regulators over its deal to buy Aer Lingus.

On Tuesday, Ryanair said the European Commission “intends to prohibit” its offer for Aer Lingus, despite the airline’s attempts to appease antitrust concerns. Ryanair added that it planned to appeal the decision.

“It appears clear from this morning’s meeting, that no matter what remedies Ryanair offered, we were not going to get a fair hearing and we’re going to be prohibited regardless of competition rules,” Robin Kiely, head of communications for the airline, said in a statement.

The deal has been troubled from the start.

Ryanair moved to buy Aer Lingus last summer, offering 694 million euros ($931 million) in its third attempt to buy the Irish carrier. Management trumpeted the opportunities, saying the deal would create “one strong Irish airline group capable of competing with Europe’s other major airline groups.”

But the board of Aer Lingus immediately rejected the hostile takeover bid, saying it undervalued the airline and would raise antitrust concerns. Ryanair’s first bid to buy Aer Lingus in 2007 was blocked for antitrust reasons.

Since then, Ryanair has sought to assuage concerns about competition, lining up buyers for various operations and routes.

Even so, regulators notified Ryanair on Tuesday that they would block the deal. Ryanair now says it has instructed its lawyers to “appeal any prohibition decision” to the courts.

“This decision is clearly a political one to meet the narrow, vested interests of the Irish government and is not based on competition law,” Ryanair said in a statement.

Aer Lingus supported the regulatory decision, saying it was “a much stronger airline today than it was at the time of the previous Ryanair offers” and that it was the only rival to Ryanair on a large number of routes.

“The reasons for prohibition are therefore even stronger in this instance than with the previous offers,” Aer Lingus said in a statement. “Therefore, it was and remains Aer Lingus’ position that the offer should never have been made.”

Article source: http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2013/02/12/ryanair-indicates-regulators-will-reject-aer-lingus-deal/?partner=rss&emc=rss

Filed Under: Global Business Tagged With: , ,

Business Briefing | MERGERS: Transatlantic and Allied Cancel Merger Plans

September 17, 2011 by Leave a Comment

Transatlantic Holdings and Allied World Assurance called off their proposed $2.94 billion merger on Friday after the two insurers faced stiff shareholder opposition and two rival bids for Transatlantic. Transatlantic has been fending off a higher $3.01 billion takeover bid by another reinsurer, Validus Holdings, and had been in talks with a unit of Berkshire Hathaway that had offered $3.25 billion.

Article source: http://feeds.nytimes.com/click.phdo?i=d118a3c94b39495113d81d676af0634a

Filed Under: Business News Tagged With: , ,

Macarthur Coal Rejects Takeover Bid

August 1, 2011 by Leave a Comment

Macarthur said on Monday it was in talks with a number of interested parties after talks with Peabody, which had been conducting due diligence on the company, failed to result in an agreement.

ArcelorMittal, the world’s top steel maker, and Peabody, the largest American coal company, want Macarthur for its reserves of cheaper, cleaner pulverized coal coveted by steel makers.

Peabody had agreed to formalize its original offer of 15.50 Australian dollars a share, but during the due diligence process it indicated it would be willing to increase the offer price to 16 Australian dollars a share subject to conditions, Macarthur said.

However, Macarthur said it rejected that proposal because the conditions would have stopped it from talking to other suitors and considering a superior offer.

Macarthur advised shareholders to take no action.

Peabody said last month that it intended to bid 15.50 Australian dollars a share minus the amount of Macarthur’s final dividend. It later agreed that up to 16 cents of the final dividend would not be deducted from the offer price.

Article source: http://feeds.nytimes.com/click.phdo?i=e35c845fbea3c18cccae441120254bb7

Filed Under: Business News Tagged With: , ,

DealBook: Minmetals Resources Bids $6.5 Billion for Equinox Minerals

April 4, 2011 by Leave a Comment

9:04 p.m. | Updated

OTTAWA — A unit of a Chinese state-owned mining company said on Sunday that it had made an unsolicited $6.5 billion takeover bid for Equinox Minerals, a copper mining company based in Toronto.

The bid by Minmetals Resources, which is controlled by China Minmetals, is the latest effort by China to buy control of major resources required by its growing industries.

That strategy has been controversial at times, particularly in Canada. In 2004, China Minmetals tried to acquire Noranda, Canada’s largest mining company at the time, but withdrew the bid after it became a contentious political issue in Canada.

Another Chinese company, Sinochem, check both weighed a takeover offer for the Potash Corporation of Saskatchewan last year, but decided against bidding because of political opposition.

Martin McFarlane, the head of investor relations for Minmetals Resources, said on a conference call Sunday that the Canadian government is unlikely to block this transaction because Equinox’s mines are in Zambia and Saudi Arabia and the company has relatively few Canadian employees.

“We’re not expecting any particular issues,” Mr. McFarlane said.

The transaction must also be approved by the government of Australia, where Equinox also has a stock listing.

Under the terms of the offer, Minmetals Resources would pay 7 Canadian dollars a share, a 23 percent premium over Equinox’s Friday closing price.

The timing of Minmetals Resources’ bid was set in part to stymie Equinox’s own unsolicited bid for another Canadian mining firm, Lundin Mining. Lundin has urged its shareholders to reject Equinox’s cash-and-stock offer, initially valued at about 4.8 billion Canadian dollars.

During the call, Minmetals Resources’ chief executive, Andrew Michelmore, repeatedly emphasized that the company is financing the deal with cash from its parent and other Chinese companies. By contrast, he said, Equinox’s bid for Lundin will be supported by $3.2 billion in debt.

The Minmetals Resources bid, he added, would provide Equinox shareholders with certainty rather than what he called “a highly leveraged and relatively higher risk opportunity.”

In a statement, Equinox acknowledged the bid and said its board would meet to consider it.

Mr. Michelmore said the deal would allow Minmetals Resources to transform from being primarily a zinc producer to being a copper mining firm. Equinox looks attractive because its projects are either already operational or are about to become so, he said.

Equinox produced 146,690 tons of copper in 2010, generating about 1 billion Canadian dollars in revenue.

Minmetals is being advised by Deutsche Bank, Macquarie Capital and the law firms David Ward Phillips Vineberg, Freehills and Linklaters.

Michael J. de la Merced contributed reporting from New York.

Article source: http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2011/04/03/chinas-minmetals-bids-6-5-billion-for-equinox-minerals/?partner=rss&emc=rss

Filed Under: Global Business Tagged With: , ,