LONDON – Around 99.3% of the board at Atlas Air have voted in favor of a takeover by an investor group.
The investor group itself is made up of Apollo, J.F Lehman & Hill City capital.
According to Atlas, this acquisition transaction is expected to be completed in the first quarter of next year, subject to regulatory approval.
Dietrich: Overwhelming Support for Acquisition…
John Dietrich, President & CEO of Atlas Air Worldwide, commented on this takeover:
“We are pleased to receive overwhelming support from Atlas Air Worldwide shareholders, who recognize this transaction provides compelling value to them while giving us the opportunity to execute our strategic plan,”
“This is another step forward to completing the transaction as we advance our leadership in airfreight and deliver high-quality services to our customers around the world.”
Tieing Up A Busy Year For Atlas…
This transaction definitely ties up what has been a busy year for Atlas Air.
The carrier has got up to a lot of things over the Summer and even more so towards the Winter 2022/23 season.
In September, it was announced that the carrier would operate four Boeing 777 Freighters for MSC Mediterranean via a long-term aircraft, crew, maintenance, and insurance deal.
This came following the airline’s order for the aircraft back in January 2022.
Commenting on the news was John Dietrich, President & CEO of Atlas Air Worldwide:
“We are pleased to welcome MSC as a new customer and look forward to supporting MSC as it develops its airfreight business and further enhances its position as a global leader in transportation and logistics”.
“This new agreement will allow MSC to capitalize on the state-of-the-art service solutions provided by our aircraft and crews, as well as the unparalleled air cargo expertise brought by our Atlas team.”
Also commenting on the deal was Soren Toft, the CEO of MSC:
“We are delighted to announce the development of MSC Air Cargo, an exciting new offering for MSC clients.”
“This strategic partnership with Atlas Air is the first step into this market, and we plan to continue exploring various avenues to develop air cargo in a way that complements our core business of container shipping.”
“Atlas Air’s fleet of 777 freighter aircraft is well-suited to support our entry into air cargo, and this strategic initiative will ensure we meet the cargo requirements of our customers.”
By October, the carrier also ended up taking delivery of its second Boeing 747-8 Freighter, which ended up being the last four of the aircraft ever to be built by Boeing.
The Boeing 747 and 767 program manager Kim Smith, commented the following on the end of the 747 program: “As we say goodbye to the Queen of the Skies, we’re proud of her legacy as an airplane that propelled aviation innovation and later laid the foundation of our family of freighters,”
By November, images were appearing of the first Atlas Air Boeing 777 Freighter in the MSC Air Cargo colors, which you can see by clicking here.
Delivery of this aircraft type happened on November 29.
Finally, the carrier delivered its first Boeing 747-8 Freighter to Kuehne+Nagel, with a ceremony taking place at Boeing’s Everett Delivery Center.
Overall…
It remains clear that Atlas Air has had quite the year, and this takeover bid will no doubt propel the group further into the cargo stratosphere.
Based on their achievements this year alone, this has, of course, made the group more attractive to this investor group, which is why there is a quick turnaround on transaction completion.
All eyes will now be on Atlas Air now to see where they will go next from this.
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