Ansett in voluntary administration

By Phil Boeyen, ShareChat Business News Editor

Wednesday 12th September 2001

Ansett has been placed in voluntary administration as Air New Zealand (NZSE: AIRVA) seeks a way to keep the business going.

The airline announced the decision just before 8.30pm Wednesday evening.

"Ansett and a number of its subsidiary businesses, including airlines, have resolved to move into voluntary administration to enable continued operation while new expressions of interest in purchasing Ansett received today are pursued" says acting chairman Jim Farmer.

"Gregory Hall, Peter Hedge, and Allan Watson of PricewaterhouseCoopers have been appointed as the voluntary administrators to take control of Ansett."

Earlier in the evening Air New Zealand dropped plans to turn Ansett into a budget airline after the Australian government refused to support the concept.

Mid-afternoon Wednesday Air NZ said it had approached the Australian government with the idea of liquidating Ansett and beginning a new value-based carrier, Ansett 2.

It had asked the Australian government to underwrite Ansett while restructuring took place.

However the Australian government doesn't favour the value airline proposal and Air NZ acting chairman, Jim Farmer, says it is now discussing a further option which has become available during the day.

"During the day we have received expressions of interest in Ansett from other potential purchasers. We are now seeking Australian Government underwriting to pursue those prospects with urgency."

"The situation is obviously changing very rapidly - and we will be making further announcements as soon as we have any developments to report."

Earlier this afternoon, Qantas said it had decided against purchasing the assets of the Ansett Airlines.

CEO, Geoff Dixon, said Qantas had looked closely at Ansett in the limited time available but decided that "Ansett's problems are far too great for Qantas to take on."

"Both the Government and the ACCC were supportive but in the end we felt such an acquisition would be a negative for Qantas," he said.

Air NZ has asked the NZSE to suspend trading in its shares Thursday morning until it concludes a recapitalisation programme for the New Zealand company with Singapore Airlines, Brierley and the New Zealand government.

Jim Farmer says the negotiations should be concluded before the release of its annual results at noon Thursday.

Those figures will now likely include hundreds of millions of dollars in writedowns of the Ansett business.

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