MONDAYBUSINESS ECONOMIC INSIGHT 19 investors indicate interest in Aero Contractors ...coy pays N300m to ‘redundant’ workers

Aero Contractors, Nigeria’s oldest carrier, is to have an enlarged shareholding structure with the expected coming of core investors, it was learnt.

About 19 local and international investors have bided to buy in the shares of the airline while they have been trimmed down to six.

From the six bidders, they would further be streamlined into the preferred bidder, second bidder and the standby bidder.

Currently the airline is managed by the Assets Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) which has the majority share and is also a creditor of Aero Contractors, the airline it took over in February 2016.

When the process is completed, the appointed investor is expected to buy from the share of the airline thereby enlarging the shareholding structure.

Chief Executive Officer of the airline, Capt. Ado Sanusi who gave this hint in a chat with select journalists in Lagos said the the current efforts to bring in core investors into the airline was a long term plan to revive the airline being spearheaded by AMCON.

He also said the airline has come up with a five to 25 years fleet renewal programme with discussions ongoing with many aircraft manufacturers including Boeing, Airbus, Bombardier, among others.

With the airline fleet expected to grow to four in January coupled with the approved maintenance organization (AMO) being operated by the airline with the capacity to carry out comprehensive check, Sanusi said the airline might reabsorb all the workers that were declared redundant recently.

He said already the airline has paid N300m out of N2.2bn it owed the workers, adding that the future of the airline is bright.

According to him, AMCON intervention in the airline is a blessing and not a step to kill the carrier as being insinuated.

He said demand for aircraft maintenance from third party has increased in recent times, saying Aero Maintenance Organization

On the expected investors’ buy in, he said, “I think by the end of the process we would have three - the preferred bidder, second preferred bidder and the standby bidder.

“They investing Contractors would into as be Aero a whole because Aero Contractors share would be diluted. They would not buy into the share but it would be diluted and so they would acquire the shares. Their investment would be to acquire more share in Aero Contractors.

“We have two shareholders now - AMCON and the legacy shareholders. So AMCON and legacy shareholders’ shares would be diluted in order for the core investors to come in and have shares.

At the end of the day there would be three shareholders - AMCON, legacy and the new core investors.”