BC Tam 2 Report post Posted June 6, 2011 Singapore Airlines says open to offers for Virgin stakeJune 06, 2011 SINGAPORE, June 6 — Singapore Airlines said today that it was open to any offers for its 49 per cent stake in Virgin Atlantic, but would not comment if any bidders had approached the airline. “I think we have been quite open, we have stated that we are open if somebody is interested in the 49 per cent stake in Virgin,” Singapore Airlines chief executive Goh Choon Phong told reporters. “They can make an offer and we will evaluate it, and we will make a decision based on that.” He said the company was also not opposed to possibilities of mergers and acquisition, and would look at future opportunities. — Reuters Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JuliusWong 0 Report post Posted June 6, 2011 Thanks BC Tam for the info. Rumours have been swirling that SQ has been looking for buyers for long time. However, no one can offer a price tag that SQ wanted to shallow. In the end, the stake remains in SQ's book as non-performing. It has debated again and again in the other website. Perhaps Lufthansa may want to buy them??? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mike P 0 Report post Posted June 6, 2011 Why? Is it hard to manage Virgin nowadays? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JuliusWong 0 Report post Posted June 6, 2011 I think its not about being hard to manage. Its more about ROI which Virgin did delivers but not good enough for SQ. Similarly, SQ makes it hard for Virgin to work. They also hold the right to 'Virgin' name. Remember the time when Virgin wanted to establish a long haul offshoot in Australia, Virgin couldn't use 'Virgin' because of the clause. Later the offshoot is (was) named 'V Australia'. Now the hassle of going through all the rebranding to 'Virgin Australia', when at the first place, every aviation freak on Earth said it should BE the name. SQ was quite inflexible in most business dealings. I think somehow they much more lenient now considering the explosion of ME carriers as well as their super competitive environment. The new low cost long haul by SQ is a good example. SQ is now going on defensive mode, rather than being passive than what it used to be. They, IMO, finally realised that the bottom of pyramid consumers would go for cheaper alternative, if they are given the choice. Happy time: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/572516.stm Parting way: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/markets/2811837/Singapore-Airlines-reviews-Virgin-stake.html Considering divorce: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-12-30/singapore-air-new-ceo-may-exit-virgin-as-asia-competition-grows.html Heated debate: http://www.airliners.net/aviation-forums/general_aviation/read.main/5024495/ Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mike P 0 Report post Posted June 6, 2011 Nothing personal but just business... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
