Word: sairgroup
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Dates: during 2001-2001
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...caterer, that are profitable and downturn-resistant. With the worldwide industry in descent, it could do with a few more. But for now, the company has a new management in place, a new business strategy and a new name - or, rather, an old one. Symbolically, Conti dropped the unevocative SAirgroup and changed it back to Swissair. That's a good reminder of the task at hand: getting back to the basics of being a midsized European carrier - and a profitable...
...financial time bomb has exploded under his feet. Seillière's troubles started when a friend persuaded him to invest $40 million for a 51% stake in the private French airline AOM in 1999. Though Seillière knew nothing about the airline business, he was assured that SAirGroup, the parent company of Swissair, would manage everything. More than Seillière's money, the Swiss needed him to serve as majority shareholder because European Union regulations bar non-E.U. investors from controlling E.U. companies. In May 2000, AOM absorbed another independent carrier, Air Liberté, and later...
...combined company quickly lost altitude. By last December, a new injection of cash was necessary to keep the company afloat. SAirGroup, whose overall business was facing disastrous losses, started pumping $45 million a month into the ailing French company but was unable to convince Seillière to cough up another cent. Though officially the majority shareholder, Seillière insisted that he was only a financial partner and that SAirGroup was responsible for managing the crisis. Declared the baron: "We are not the pilot in this matter, we are the passenger...
...stormy meeting last week, Rochet asked the two investor groups for yet another cash injection to fund the $400 million salvage plan. SAirGroup said it would do so only if Marine-Wendel shared the cost. But Seillière's team was unwavering: "It is out of the question that we pay one more franc." With no serious buyers in sight, Rochet seemed ready to throw in the towel and declare bankruptcy. Some analysts predicted that the threat of an imminent liquidation - which could cost the investors at least $800 million - might finally convince SAirGroup to finance the bailout alone...
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