Articles tagged “m and a”

The deal secures Condor's immediate future. But can a small carrier group really hope to compete against the might of Lufthansa and low-cost carriers such as Ryanair?

It's easier to understand IAG CEO Willie Walsh's sanguine tone on last week's earnings call given he clearly had this deal in the pipeline. If it goes through — and it's still a big if given the competition concerns — it will ease the pain of Delta's recent Latam deal.

Thomas Cook's collapse was a disaster played out in slow motion. An ill-fated acquisition spree, a bloated retail footprint, and a commoditized product left it unable to deal with changes in consumer behavior and economic shocks.

Thomas Cook wasn't just a UK business: It had operations across Europe, some of which were pretty profitable. They're now in a race against time to secure their future and find new owners.

Slots are a valuable commodity, especially at busy airports like Orly. Aigle Azur's demise offers Air France an opportunity to increase its presence at Paris' second largest airport, but other airlines will likely be interested as well.

Package holidays are still popular across much of Europe, and companies like Sunweb think there are plenty of opportunities for growth. Buying up rival tour operators helps with scale, as does the struggles of a competitor like Thomas Cook.

With the hostel market still so fragmented, the Meininger business would make an attractive option for one of its rivals or perhaps a private equity firm.

Given that Thomas Cook released a statement about the potential sale, this looks pretty serious. But it begs the question: Just what will Thomas Cook have left if and when it sells its airlines and Nordics divisions?

It looks like Ryanair is preparing itself for a major shakeup of the European airline industry. We've heard it talk about struggling competition before, but things are getting much tougher out there.

Despite playing a key role in European airline consolidation over the last few years, it seems IAG's arch dealmaker Willie Walsh is now happy to sit back and let others fight it out.