Qantas initially bought just under 20% of Alliance in February 2019
Johnson Winter & Slattery (JWS) has helped national aircraft carrier Qantas Airways Limited finalise an agreement to fully acquire ASX lister Alliance Aviation Services.
Pursuant to the deal, Qantas will acquire the remaining 80 percent stake in Alliance by way of a scheme of arrangement, under which Alliance shareholders will receive $4.75 in Qantas shares for each Alliance share they hold. The company initially bought just under 20 percent of Alliance in February 2019.
According to Qantas, the proposed acquisition will give the company greater fleet flexibility and operational resilience to participate in the resource sector’s strong growth. It will also see Alliance become a wholly owned part of the Qantas Group.
Qantas Group CEO Alan Joyce said that acquiring the remaining shares in Alliance would mean Qantas’ regional airline, QantasLink, can better compete in the highly competitive charter segment, particularly given the shared fleet type of Fokker aircraft.
“Alliance’s fleet of Fokker aircraft are perfect for efficiently serving resources customers in WA and Queensland,” Joyce said. “They also have a big inventory of spare parts that would significantly extend the practical life of a combined fleet of around almost 70 Fokkers.”
Partner Michele Laidlaw led the JWS’ competition team on the transaction, with assistance from associates Rosie Short and Angelica Sorn. They were supported on the corporate end by partner James Rozsa, consultant Byron Koster, senior associate Jemma Potezny, associate Nathan Ricardo, and law graduate Nathan Shapiro.
