The review of the Qantas pilots union application to the Takeovers Panel has begun with the union attempting to force the APA syndicate to stop buying shares or revise its bidders statement.
In its 50 page application the Australian & International Pilots Association has applied for a “declaration of unacceptable circumstances” in relation to the takeover offer for Qantas by the Airline Partners Australia consortium.
In the application, a copy of which was obtained by The Australian, AIPA rejects claims made about the experience of US APA member Texas Pacific Group, with AIPA claiming that APA’s takeover offer document contains misleading statements about TPG’s experience in making airlines profitable.
The Australian says that the application outlines extensively the speed at which TPG sold down its stake in a number of US airlines it had taken over in the past 15 years including Continental Airlines, America West and Ireland’s Ryanair and it seeks an order that APA either must not purchase any further shares in Qantas or advise Qantas shareholders that its bidder’s statement contains misleading statements and “material non-disclosure” in addition to providing shareholders with a revised bidder’s statement and engage in “corrective advertising” to communicate the stance.
Report by The Mole
