Industry news
Menzies receives increased takeover bid from NAS
Acquisitions
UK airport services firm John Menzies has received an improved all-cash takeover offer of £559m ($761.75m) from Agility subsidiary NAS.
Menzies’ board is willing to recommend this offer of £6.08 per share by the Kuwaiti group to shareholders.
NAS notified the board that its latest proposal is final, and the purchase price will not be further increased. However, it could raise the offer price in the event of a takeover bid by a third party.
NAS previously made three bids of £4.60, £5.10, and £6.05 per Menzies share, all of which were rejected by the board, for being "highly opportunistic" and for undervaluing the London-listed firm.
With a workforce of 25,000 people, Menzies Aviation operates at more than 200 airports across 37 countries. The firm counts United Airlines, Air France-KLM, American Airlines, Cathay Pacific, Air China, Qantas Group, Air Canada, and Qatar Airways among its clients.
Operations
Ferrovial signs exclusivity agreement for new JFK terminal
Ferrovial Airports has entered an exclusivity agreement with Carlyle Group to negotiate the purchase of its stake in New Terminal One (NTO), a consortium in charge of designing, constructing, and running the new terminal at John F Kennedy International Airport in New York, US.
A private consortium, NTO includes Carlyle, JLC Infrastructure, and Ullico. The new terminal will replace the outdated Terminal 1, 2, and the former Terminal 3 that was demolished in 2013.
Carlyle holds a 51% stake in NTO and if an agreement is signed between the two parties, Ferrovial Airports would acquire 96% of the said stake.
Although Ferrovial Airports did not reveal details of the transaction, Bloomberg reported, citing people familiar with the matter, that the company plans to invest more than $1bn in Carlyle Group.
Fuel
Neste and Itochu to increase SAF availability in Japan
Sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) producer Neste has partnered with Itochu to expand the availability of SAF in Japan.
Under this collaboration, Itochu will serve as a branded distributor of Neste MY Sustainable Aviation Fuel in the country.
Initially, the SAF will be delivered at Haneda and Narita airports, which are the country’s two largest international airports.
In 2020, Neste, Itochu, and All Nippon Airways forged an alliance to create a SAF supply chain, allowing Neste’s first SAF delivery into Asia to materialise in Japan.
The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism of Japan recently provided a roadmap to a study group on carbon reduction from aeroplanes.
The roadmap suggested the replacement of 10% of jet fuels used by Japanese airlines with SAF by 2030.
Aircraft
Avolon secures eVTOL aircraft order from AirAsia
Aircraft leasing company Avolon has signed a non-binding memorandum of understanding with AirAsia Aviation Group Limited (AirAsia) to lease a minimum of 100 of its VX4 eVTOL aircraft.
The VX4 aircraft, Vertical Aerospace’s flagship electric aircraft, will be used by AirAsia to provide advanced air mobility services. This aircraft will be able to fly at a maximum speed of 80kmph and range of 160km. It can carry one pilot and four travellers, at zero operating emissions.
Furthermore, Avolon’s affiliate Avolon-e will collaborate with AirAsia to commercialise zero-emissions eVTOL aircraft and establish an urban air mobility (UAM) platform in Southeast Asia.
As part of this initiative, the pair will create a working group to research market opportunities and infrastructure needs for UAM, as well as pursue local certification.
Acquisitions
Sydney Airport gets nod for $17bn buyout
Shareholders of Australia-based Sydney Airport Holdings have approved a A$23.6bn ($16.85bn) takeover offer from the Sydney Aviation Alliance consortium.
Sydney Airport Holdings said that 79.29% of the shareholders voted in favour of the deal while 20.71% voted against the deal.
Some retail investors voted against delisting of the airport, expressing their concern that the bid did not have a scrip component as they intended to continue their association with the company for a long term.
The airport’s largest shareholder UniSuper will transfer its 15% holding into the new entity.
The all-cash deal, said to be one of the biggest-ever buyouts in Australia, was cleared by the Australian Foreign Investment Review Board in December last year.
cybersecurity
Ransomware attack causes delay at Zurich Airport
Airport ground services and air cargo operator Swissport has been hit with a ransomware attack that caused disruption in operations at Zurich Airport.
Swissport is responsible for most of the operations at the airport, including check-in gates, airport security, baggage handling, aircraft fueling, de-icing, and lounge hospitality.
A spokesperson told Reuters that 22 flights were delayed by up to 20 minutes at Zurich Airport on 3 February.
Most critical systems and applications remained unaffected, but some systems were shut temporarily due to the impact on several servers.
However, the security teams were quick to detect the attack and started restoring the firm’s IT systems.
Acquisitions
Frontier and Spirit agree $2.9bn merger
American budget carrier Frontier has signed a $2.9bn deal to acquire rival discount carrier Spirit Airlines, creating the fifth-largest airline in the US.
According to the merger deal, Spirit Airlines investors will get 1.9126 shares of Frontier and $2.13 in cash for each share held.
The deal is valued at $6.6bn, including the assumption of net debt and the operating lease liabilities.
Through this combination, the two carriers aim to offer more ultra-low fares for passengers travelling across the US, Latin America, the Caribbean region, and major cities and underserved communities.
This merger is expected to deliver $1bn in annual consumer savings and increase connectivity with more than 1,000 flights operating daily to more than 145 destinations in 19 countries.
propulsion
magniX and DESAER in hybrid-electric collaboration
Brazilian aeronautical firm Desaer has partnered with magniX to develop a hybrid electric version of the ATL-100 regional aeroplane.
This hybrid electric iteration, ATL-100H, is projected to save 25%-40% of fuel on the basis of the operation’s range.
Desaer is currently developing the original ATL-100 model, which will be the first to enter service. ATL-100H’s development will be supported by magniX’s technology.
This hybrid electric iteration will receive power from two magni350 electric propulsion units and two turboprop engines.
The battery-driven hybrid aircraft will use an electric motor and a gas motor.
In brief
BOA and Veovo partner for Brazilians operations
Brazil-based consultancy BOA has collaborated with technology firm Veovo to help airports across the country gain access to the latter’s Intelligent Airport platform.
Vista to buy private jet charter operator Air Hamburg
Vista Global Holding, the parent of VistaJet, has agreed to take over the operating platform and maintenance services of Air Hamburg, a German private jet charter operator. The financial terms of the transaction were not shared.
Schiphol to purchase TaxiBots
Amsterdam Airport Schiphol is set to procure two special towing vehicles, called TaxiBots, for moving aircraft in a sustainable manner. With this purchase, the airport is said to become Europe’s first airport to deploy TaxiBots.
Swedavia utilises Nuctech for security upgrades
Swedish airport operator Swedavia has collaborated with China’s Nuctech to procure baggage screening equipment for Stockholm Arlanda Airport. The X-ray equipment will be installed at the airport’s new security checkpoint in Terminal 5 and deployed by Swedish sub-contractor NSC Sweden.
Collins to offer MRO services for Singapore and Scoot
Collins Aerospace has signed a long-term maintenance repair overhaul (MRO) agreement with Singapore Airlines and Scoot. Under the agreement, Collins Aerospace will provide MRO services to a fleet of 55 Boeing 787 aircraft belonging to Singapore Airlines Group.
Acquisitions
Frontier and Spirit agree $2.9bn merger
American budget carrier Frontier has signed a $2.9bn deal to acquire rival discount carrier Spirit Airlines, creating the fifth-largest airline in the US.
According to the merger deal, Spirit Airlines investors will each get 1.9126 shares of Frontier and $2.13 in cash for each share held.
The deal is valued at $6.6bn, including the assumption of net debt and the operating lease liabilities.
Through this combination, the two carriers aim to offer more ultra-low fares for passengers travelling across the US, Latin America, the Caribbean region, and major cities and underserved communities.
This merger is expected to deliver $1bn in annual consumer savings and increase connectivity with more than 1,000 flights operating daily to more than 145 destinations in 19 countries.
propulsion
magniX and DESAER in hybrid-electric collaboration
Brazilian aeronautical firm Desaer has partnered with magniX to develop a hybrid electric version of the ATL-100 regional aeroplane.
This hybrid electric iteration, ATL-100H, is projected to save 25%-40% of fuel on the basis of the operation’s range.
Desaer is currently developing the original ATL-100 model, which will be the first to enter service. ATL-100H’s development will be supported by magniX’s technology.
This hybrid electric iteration will receive power from two magni350 electric propulsion units and two turboprop engines.
The battery-driven hybrid aircraft will use an electric motor and a gas motor.
