Company Watch - Alitalia.Jun 4, 2007Aeroflot says it welcomes the decision to let it review troubled carrier, Alitalia's financial records, as the bidding war for the Italian airline hots up. The Russian flag carrier, in tandem Adv. 1. in tandem - one behind the other; "ride tandem on a bicycle built for two"; "riding horses down the path in tandem" tandem with banker, UniCredit, is aiming to acquire a 39.9% stake in Alitalia, whose economic challenges have continued to dominate headlines in Italy. Calls to Alitalia in Rome were met with a straight bat response, with all inquiries directed to the Finance Ministry, who remained equally tightlipped tight·lipped also tight-lipped adj. 1. Having the lips pressed together. 2. Loath to speak; close-mouthed. See Synonyms at silent. , but what appears to be clear is that the race for Alitalia also involves fellow Italian carrier, Air One. Media speculation has centered on the fact that it may be preferable for Alitalia to transfer to Air One to ensure a genuine privatization privatization: see nationalization. privatization Transfer of government services or assets to the private sector. State-owned assets may be sold to private owners, or statutory restrictions on competition between privately and publicly owned , rather than be run by a fellow State airline, but telephone inquiries to Air One proved inconclusive. May 31, 2007 TPG TPG Texas Pacific Group TPG Tapping TPG Transports Publics Genevois (Geneva, Switzerland public transportation) TPG Test Pattern Generator TPG TNT Post Group TPG Trésorier Payeur Général , the US private equity firm formerly known as Texas Pacific Group, dropped out of the bidding for Alitalia, Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi confirmed yesterday, according to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. widespread press reports from Rome. TPG apparently will concentrate on its pursuit of Iberia, leaving consortia headed by Aeroflot and Air One to compete for the government's 49.9% stake in AZ . It is selling at least 39.9% of the airline. TPG reportedly issued a statement in Italy saying it is "not in a position to comply with all the requirements." May 31, 2007 Alitalia shares fell to a year low on Wednesday after the list of potential buyers for Italy's stake in the loss-making airline shrank shrank v. A past tense of shrink. shrank Verb a past tense of shrink shrank shrink to two. A consortium led by US private equity firm Texas Pacific Group said late on Tuesday it was withdrawing from bidding for Alitalia. The pullout pull·out n. 1. A withdrawal, especially of troops. 2. Change from a dive to level flight. Used of an aircraft. 3. An object designed to be pulled out. Noun 1. left Italian airline Air One and Russian flag carrier Aeroflot vying for Alitalia. Both bids are supported by Italian banks -- Aeroflot's by UniCredit, and Air One's by Intesa Sanpaolo Intesa Sanpaolo is a new banking group resulting from the merger between Banca Intesa and Sanpaolo IMI. It has clear leadership in the Italian market and a strong international presence focussed on Central-Eastern Europe and the Mediterranean basin. . A source close to Air One said the airline was staying in the bidding process. Prime Minister Romano Prodi said the auction would continue as planned and that the TPG-led consortium had not further explained why it pulled out. In the written statement on Tuesday, it cited only inability to comply with procedural rules. May 31, 2007 Alitalia shares fell to a year low on Wednesday after the list of potential buyers for Italy's stake in the loss-making airline shrank to two. May 30, 2007 Alitalia flew 3.26 billion RPKs in April, down 0.4% from the year-ago month. Capacity fell 0.7% to 4.3 billion ASKs and load factor rose 0.2 point to 75.6%. May 28, 2007 Alitalia rivals plan more expansion. As the long-awaited Alitalia privatisation Noun 1. privatisation - changing something from state to private ownership or control denationalisation, denationalization, privatization social control - control exerted (actively or passively) by group action process reaches its final stages, fellow Italian carriers Air One and Myair have been busy expanding. May 28, 2007 Aeroflot, which remains alive in the bidding for SkyTeam partner Alitalia, also has made an offer to buy Serbia's Jat Airways Jat Airways is the national airline of Serbia and the former national carrier of Yugoslavia, based in Belgrade. It operates scheduled domestic, regional and international services to over 40 destinations in Europe, North Africa and the Middle East, as well as charters and wet , according to press reports. Serbian Minister of Infrastructure Velimir Ilic told reporters in Belgrade that SU offered to settle Jat's debts, purchase new aircraft and maintain the carrier's workforce. The Russian carrier reportedly is not the only interested buyer. "So far Aeroflot has made the best and the most concrete offer," a Jat official told Reuters. The airline reported a $5 million profit in 2006, according to the news agency. May 28, 2007 Editorial eMail: edit@AirGuideOnline.com For Air Transport & Travel Business Experts contact our Director of Content Aram Gesar eMail: bizintel@AirGuideOnline.com For more global news, reviews, features and analysis, please subscribe to Verb 1. subscribe to - receive or obtain regularly; "We take the Times every day" subscribe, take buy, purchase - obtain by purchase; acquire by means of a financial transaction; "The family purchased a new car"; "The conglomerate acquired a new company"; our Newsletters: http://www.airguideonline.com/order_formsubs.htm#news To Advertise: advert@AirGuideOnline.com AirGuideFlightTracker is a new service that keeps travelers informed on flight and airport status via the Web. For more go to http://www.airguideonline.com/airline_tracker.htm Copyright [c] 2007 Air Travel Media / Pyramid Media Group. All rights reserved. May 28, 2007 |
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