SIA seeks offers for Virgin stake
15.05.08
Singapore Airlines has put the for sale sign on its 49 percent stake in Virgin Atlantic. SIA bought its stake in Virgin Atlantic for £800m in 1999, but has been unhappily collecting dividends in the face of airline’s refusal to offer any management control.
SIA chief executive Chew Choon Seng said yesterday: 'It's not a secret that we regard it as an under-performing investment. We are still reviewing our plans and are open to all offers. But as they say in classified ads: No time-wasters, please.’
Virgin founder and President, Sir Richard Branson, said last August that Virgin Group may buy back the stake held by Singapore Air. He has a right of first refusal and would be willing to match any offers for it, he said.
Meanwhile SIA will launch its first all-business class product, a non-stop 18 hour flight between Singapore and New York, today in a bid to capture the higher-yielding business traffic.
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