Deccan, Kingfisher merger gets go-ahead

Bangalore: The boards of Deccan Aviation and Kingfisher Airlines on Wednesday unanimously decided to merge Kingfisher Airlines with the publicly listed Deccan Aviation.
The new company will later be renamed as Kingfisher Airlines, of which Vijay Mallya will be the chairman. Capt Gopinath, who pioneered the low-cost aviation in India with Deccan Aviation, will be the vice-chairman of the new company.
UB Holdings, which currently holds a majority stake in Kingfisher Airlines and a 46% stake in Deccan Aviation, will own a significant majority in the new company.
After debating for over three hours late on Wednesday night, the boards of both the companies, decided to go ahead with the merger after hearing out Accenture's views, which was appointed to present a report on synergies between the two airlines.
The new company will operate two separate brands - Deccan and Kingfisher, retaining their identities of being a low-cost carrier and a premium one respectively.
Addressing the media after the board meeting, Vijay Mallya said that the new company would kick off by early next financial year. The swap ratio will be decided within four to five weeks from today and will be decided by accounting firms KPMG and Dalal & Shah.
19/12/07 Business Standard

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Categories: Kingfisher Dec 2007, Simplifly Deccan Dec 2007