Fusion Continental / United Airlines

“It looks as if [United Chair Glenn] Tilton’s plan is coming together,” said AirlineForecasts Partner Vaughn Cordle, reacting to the news that United and Continental have renewed merger talks, according to The New York Times Deal Book which first broke the story of United’s merger talks with US Airways last week.

Most observers concluded that the US Airways talks were a feint to get Continental to the table. United Air Line Pilots Association Master Executive Council (MEC) Chair Captain Wendy Morse furthered this assumption. "Presently, there are no meaningful merger discussions with US Airways," she said in a message to pilots last week. "The United master executive council has confirmed that the report is speculation.” Earlier this week Stifel Nickolaus Analyst Hunter Keay predicted Continental would join the fray if, for no other reason, as a defensive move against being the odd man out.

Deal Book reported Continental revealed it was in the early states of renewed merger talks with United at 1 pm yesterday, only saying that it received confirmation from people briefed on the matter, who naturally cautioned that the deal could fall apart at any time.

The news quickly ricocheted around the industry.

The two had a run at merging in 2008, only to back off with the fuel crisis and the compounding recession. Sources also indicated that Continental walked away owing to United’s weakness. Many have mentioned that the anti-trust immunity gained by United and Continental is already gaining synergy benefits that would unlikely increase with an outright merger.

“This would be Continental's second go-round with UAL in as many years, and the situation is the same,” said Airsavings CEO Raphael Bejar. “Even though analysts might cite a slightly higher value of a merger between these two airlines, the fact is that they already engage in a codeshare alliance. This means that though they may each have routes that could complement the other’s routes, they are already reaping some of the benefits of these complements. Since that deal didn't go through in 2008, it's hard to envision it happening now. That said, the consensus seems to be that a Continental merger would be more valuable than a US Airways one, so anything is possible

Report: United-Continental merger talks snag on share pricing
Tuesday April 27, 2010 Merger talks between United Airlines and Continental Airlines--which neither airline has confirmed officially--apparently have hit a snag over how to price what is expected to be an all-stock transaction.

According to The Wall Street Journal, which cited people familiar with the matter, Continental wants to use the average share price in the 30 days prior to April 7 while United wants to use the share price the day before a deal is signed.

UA stock has seen a significantly bigger price bump than CO shares since UA was reported to be in discussions with US Airways. Last week US Airways said it was dropping out of those talks (ATWOnline, April 23).

Admin a écrit:Bonjour à tous

Cette news est un peu vieille, mais à priori tjs d'actualité

UAL /Usairways : plus de discussions
CO/UAL : discussions en cours


http://www.centreforaviation.com/news/2010/04/16/united-continental-renew-merger-talks/page1

Un petit extrait, l'article est long

“It looks as if [United Chair Glenn] Tilton’s plan is coming together,” said AirlineForecasts Partner Vaughn Cordle, reacting to the news that United and Continental have renewed merger talks, according to The New York Times Deal Book which first broke the story of United’s merger talks with US Airways last week.

Most observers concluded that the US Airways talks were a feint to get Continental to the table. United Air Line Pilots Association Master Executive Council (MEC) Chair Captain Wendy Morse furthered this assumption. "Presently, there are no meaningful merger discussions with US Airways," she said in a message to pilots last week. "The United master executive council has confirmed that the report is speculation.” Earlier this week Stifel Nickolaus Analyst Hunter Keay predicted Continental would join the fray if, for no other reason, as a defensive move against being the odd man out.

Deal Book reported Continental revealed it was in the early states of renewed merger talks with United at 1 pm yesterday, only saying that it received confirmation from people briefed on the matter, who naturally cautioned that the deal could fall apart at any time.

The news quickly ricocheted around the industry.

The two had a run at merging in 2008, only to back off with the fuel crisis and the compounding recession. Sources also indicated that Continental walked away owing to United’s weakness. Many have mentioned that the anti-trust immunity gained by United and Continental is already gaining synergy benefits that would unlikely increase with an outright merger.

“This would be Continental's second go-round with UAL in as many years, and the situation is the same,” said Airsavings CEO Raphael Bejar. “Even though analysts might cite a slightly higher value of a merger between these two airlines, the fact is that they already engage in a codeshare alliance. This means that though they may each have routes that could complement the other’s routes, they are already reaping some of the benefits of these complements. Since that deal didn't go through in 2008, it's hard to envision it happening now. That said, the consensus seems to be that a Continental merger would be more valuable than a US Airways one, so anything is possible

A priori cette alliance était déjà sur le feu en 2006 puis 2008


A suivre

United Airlines and Continental Airlines have agreed to merge in a deal worth $3 billion, and are expected to announce the agreement soon.

United will acquire Continental under the deal, and the airlines' boards have agreed to the merger, say local media reports quoting unnamed sources.

The new airline will retain United's name and will be based in Chicago, say the reports.

Speculation on a possible merger between the two Star Alliance carriers has been rife in recent weeks, particularly after merger talks between United and US Airways broke down.

Continental, which posted a $146 million loss in its first quarter, has declined to discuss the issue.

Continental et United créent le numéro un mondial de l'aviation

NEW YORK/CHICAGO (Reuters) - UAL Corp, maison mère d'United Airlines, va racheter Continental Airlines pour 3,17 milliards de dollars (2,4 milliards d'euros) pour donner naissance à la première compagnie aérienne mondiale.
Le chiffre d'affaires de la nouvelle compagnie, qui s'appellera United Airlines et s'appuiera sur près de 90.000 employés, a été estimé à 29 milliards de dollars.
L'opération, sous réserve de sa validation par les autorités de régulation, permettrait de réaliser entre un milliard et 1,2 milliard de dollars de chiffre d'affaires et d'économies de coûts d'ici 2013, ont ajouté les deux groupes, qui s'attendent à une finalisation au dernier trimestre de cette année.
"C'est vraiment un type de fusion classique de bout en bout, où les deux compagnies vont tirer profit de la transaction", note Michael Derchin, de CRT Capital Group.
Cette opération est la première dans le ciel américain depuis le rachat de Northwest par Delta Air Lines en 2008, et survient après des mois de spéculations sur une nouvelle consolidation dans le secteur aérien.
Les experts affirment cependant que cette nouvelle fusion ne devrait pas donner lieu à des opérations similaires entre les transporteurs restants.
Vers 15h50 GMT, le titre d'UAL Corp gagnait 1,95%, tandis que celui de Continental avançait de 1,6%.
Cet accord risque d'attiser les tensions entre Airbus et Boeing sur le sort de 22 milliards d'euros de commandes d'avions qui devaient être livrés aux deux groupes.
United a récemment partagé entre les deux avionneurs une commande évaluée à dix milliards de dollars censée lui permettre de renouveler sa flotte d'appareils monocouloirs.
ÉCHANGE D'ACTIONS
Selon les termes de l'accord, les actionnaires de Continental Airlines recevront 1,05 action ordinaire UAL pour chaque action ordinaire Continental.
Compte tenu du cours de clôture d'UAL vendredi à 21,60 dollars et des 139,6 millions de titres Continental en circulation le 21 avril, United devrait débourser 3,17 milliards de dollars pour s'offrir sa cible, ou 22,68 dollars par titre.
Cela fait ressortir une prime de 1,5% par rapport au cours de clôture de Continental en fin de semaine dernière.
La nouvelle compagnie devrait afficher 314,5 millions de titres en circulation, dont 55% appartiendront aux actionnaires d'UAL.
Le directeur général actuel d'UAL, Glenn Tilton, deviendra président non exécutif du nouveau groupe tandis que le directeur général de Continental, Jeff Smisek, conservera cette fonction au sein de la nouvelle entité. Ce dernier deviendra président exécutif du groupe quand Glenn Tilton se retirera, ce qui devrait intervenir deux ans après la finalisation de la fusion.
PAS DE GROS PLAN SOCIAL PRÉVU
Glenn Tilton a déjà prévenu les employés lundi qu'il y aurait des licenciements dans les deux sociétés. Mais Jeff Smisek a déclaré à Reuters que les effets de la fusion sur le nombre des employés seraient faible.
L'Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA), syndicat qui représente les pilotes chez UAL et Continental, a fait part de son accord de principe à la fusion.
En revanche, l'International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM) a fait part de ses inquiétudes concernant les effets de cette fusion sur les bénéfices et sur la sécurité de l'emploi de plus de 26.000 employés des deux groupes.
Les deux syndicats sont représentés au conseil d'administration d'UAL.
"Le problème majeur va être de savoir si les employés soutiennent la transaction, et je pense qu'ils le feront parce que je crois qu'ils verront que les deux groupes ensemble seront beaucoup plus rentables que si chacune des compagnies était restée seule, et ils verront cela comme un moyen de récupérer plus rapidement une partie de leurs pertes de salaires", estime l'analyste Michael Derchin.
UAL et US Airways ont eu cette année des discussions en vue d'un rapprochement, mais US Airways a finalement renoncé.
CONSOLIDATION
Les analystes spéculent désormais sur les autres fusions possibles. Selon certains experts, la consolidation du secteur apportera davantage de stabilité à une industrie bouleversée par l'apparition des compagnies à bas coûts, les inquiétudes liées aux menaces terroristes, la volatilité des prix du kérosène et les surcapacités.
"Cela laisse American Airlines vraiment hors du coup, et c'est assez drôle alors qu'il n'y a pas trop longtemps, c'était le plus gros transporteur traditionnel", relève Doug Abbey, consultant dans le secteur aérien.
Basili Aukos, analyste de Morningstar, estime d'ailleurs qu'American Airlines pourrait faire un beau couple avec JetBlue Airways. Les deux sociétés ont annoncé dernièrement un accord de partage de codes (partenariat commercial visant à se partager des dessertes sur une même liaison).

United and Continental Airlines are attempting to create maximum fleet flexibility in their combined merger, and are targeting a combined fleet of 550 to 750 aircraft by 2014.
The two companies unveiled their badly kept plans to merge earlier today, and Continental CEO Jeff Smisek admitted he was driven to contact his counterpart at United Glenn Tilton by United's merger discussions with US Airways.
Smisek says the projected fleet range allows the combined carrier, which will retain the United name but feature the Continental livery and colours, to "flex up or flex down" in response to market conditions.
Smisek and Tilton during a call with analysts gave little insight into the fate of United's firm order for 25 Airbus A350s. Tilton only says the "utility" of the A350 has not changed.
Significant issues surrounding the combined entity's management structure, labour and operations remain unresolved, and Tilton and Smisek are forming an integration team to examine the executive make-up of the new airline.
While there are likely to be fence agreements with labour groups in place from the time of the legal closing of the merger to the official combining of operations, Smisek says in order to have the appropriately sized company, individuals will lose jobs in Chicago and Houston.
Smisek stresses even though the combined entity will be headquartered in Chicago, Houston is pegged to become the largest hub for the new United.

United and Continental

It remains to be seen the specific role secondary hubs such as Cleveland will play in the combined carrier's network, which will feature 10 hubs. Smisek explains it is premature to talk about how Cleveland, or any the hubs will fit into the new network.
Responding to a question about the combined United forging a relationship with a low cost carrier similar to the tie-up between JetBlue and American Tilton simply states: "We have exactly what we need."
United and Continental are aiming to close their merger transaction by year-end, and are targeting to receive a single operating certificate from the US FAA by mid-2012.
The combined revenue and cost gains should generate net annual synergies of the combined entity of $1 to $1.2 billion. Roughly 75% of that total should be achieved in 2012, says Smisek, with the remaining 25% following in 2013. United and Continental calculated those synergies by overlaying the combined current fleets of the two carriers.
Smisek also estimates the combined entity should transport roughly 144 million passengers annually.
Neither executive has any anxiety about receiving approval from the US Department of Justice (DOJ) for the merger. In a formal presentation the carriers point out there are 81 US domestic United destinations not served by Continental and 42 of Continental's domestic cities are not currently included in United's network.
Confirming the United-US Airways talks were a driving force in Continental's decision to renew merger talks with United, Smisek jokes that Continental didn't want United "to marry the ugly girl".
Smisek formally contacted Tilton to discuss a merger on 9 April.