boxedlunch
Oct 13, 09, 4:20 am
Hot off the presses...
http://www.reuters.com/article/companyNews/idUKT31558120091013?sp=true
UPDATE 2-JAL to seek $2.8 bln debt waiver, capital boost -media
Tue Oct 13, 2009 3:30am EDT
* JAL eyes Y250 bln debt waiver, Y150 bln capital boost -Kyodo
* Considers expanding job cuts to 9,000 from 6,800 -Kyodo
* JAL President Nishimatsu to step down -Kyodo (Updates with details, background)
TOKYO, Oct 13 (Reuters) - Japan Airlines Corp (9205.T) plans to ask its creditors to forgive it 250 billion yen ($2.8 billion) in debt and to seek a capital boost of 150 billion yen as part of a new revival plan, Kyodo news agency reported on Tuesday.
The struggling airline, Asia's largest by revenue, is also considering expanding its planned job cuts to more than 9,000, or one-fifth of its workforce, Kyodo said, citing unnamed sources. JAL had previously planned to axe 6,800 jobs.
A JAL spokesman declined to comment.
Shares of JAL closed down 2.9 percent at 133 yen. The benchmark Nikkei average .N225 rose 0.6 percent.
JAL, weighed down by $15 billion of debt and coming off a $1 billion loss in the April-June quarter, is restructuring under supervision of the state after it backed a 100 billion yen loan to prop up the airline's finances earlier this year.
JAL has put on hold talks it was holding separately with Delta Air Lines (DAL.N) and AMR Corp's (AMR.N) American Airlines for a capital infusion and business ties, aiming to focus first on its own revival plan, Kyodo reported last week. [ID:nT127282]
Under the latest restructuring plan JAL would convert some of its debt into equity, Kyodo said. It will will also seek 150 billion yen in capital, part of which it hopes will come from an infusion of public funds, Kyodo said.
The restructuring of JAL took a new turn in late August when the Democratic Party came to power in a landslide election victory, ending the rule of the Liberal Democratic Party, which had supported state help for the airline.
The Democrats have said they do not want to see JAL fail but have not been clear on the extent to which they would be willing to use state finances to that end.
Any revival plan has widely been expected to include some form of financial aid from the government, either in the form of loan guarantees or a capital injection. Otherwise, JAL's banks would be reluctant to extend fresh loans. [ID:nT63351]
JAL's largest creditor is the state-owned Development Bank of Japan with 230 billion yen in loans outstanding as of March 31. Other lenders include Mizuho Corporate Bank with 57 billion yen in loans, Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ with 53 billion yen and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation with 37 billion yen.
The new transport minister Seiji Maehara has set up a special task force to help craft a new turnaround plan for the carrier, having deemed the previous plan forged under LDP leadership not aggressive enough for a sustained recovery.
JAL will submit the new plan to the transport minister for approval by the end of October and aims to get the green light from creditors in November, Kyodo said.
JAL President Haruka Nishimatsu will step down and be replaced by someone from outside the company, Kyodo said. (Reporting by Nobuhiro Kubo; Editing by Hugh Lawson and Joseph Radford)
http://www.reuters.com/article/companyNews/idUKT31558120091013?sp=true
UPDATE 2-JAL to seek $2.8 bln debt waiver, capital boost -media
Tue Oct 13, 2009 3:30am EDT
* JAL eyes Y250 bln debt waiver, Y150 bln capital boost -Kyodo
* Considers expanding job cuts to 9,000 from 6,800 -Kyodo
* JAL President Nishimatsu to step down -Kyodo (Updates with details, background)
TOKYO, Oct 13 (Reuters) - Japan Airlines Corp (9205.T) plans to ask its creditors to forgive it 250 billion yen ($2.8 billion) in debt and to seek a capital boost of 150 billion yen as part of a new revival plan, Kyodo news agency reported on Tuesday.
The struggling airline, Asia's largest by revenue, is also considering expanding its planned job cuts to more than 9,000, or one-fifth of its workforce, Kyodo said, citing unnamed sources. JAL had previously planned to axe 6,800 jobs.
A JAL spokesman declined to comment.
Shares of JAL closed down 2.9 percent at 133 yen. The benchmark Nikkei average .N225 rose 0.6 percent.
JAL, weighed down by $15 billion of debt and coming off a $1 billion loss in the April-June quarter, is restructuring under supervision of the state after it backed a 100 billion yen loan to prop up the airline's finances earlier this year.
JAL has put on hold talks it was holding separately with Delta Air Lines (DAL.N) and AMR Corp's (AMR.N) American Airlines for a capital infusion and business ties, aiming to focus first on its own revival plan, Kyodo reported last week. [ID:nT127282]
Under the latest restructuring plan JAL would convert some of its debt into equity, Kyodo said. It will will also seek 150 billion yen in capital, part of which it hopes will come from an infusion of public funds, Kyodo said.
The restructuring of JAL took a new turn in late August when the Democratic Party came to power in a landslide election victory, ending the rule of the Liberal Democratic Party, which had supported state help for the airline.
The Democrats have said they do not want to see JAL fail but have not been clear on the extent to which they would be willing to use state finances to that end.
Any revival plan has widely been expected to include some form of financial aid from the government, either in the form of loan guarantees or a capital injection. Otherwise, JAL's banks would be reluctant to extend fresh loans. [ID:nT63351]
JAL's largest creditor is the state-owned Development Bank of Japan with 230 billion yen in loans outstanding as of March 31. Other lenders include Mizuho Corporate Bank with 57 billion yen in loans, Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ with 53 billion yen and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation with 37 billion yen.
The new transport minister Seiji Maehara has set up a special task force to help craft a new turnaround plan for the carrier, having deemed the previous plan forged under LDP leadership not aggressive enough for a sustained recovery.
JAL will submit the new plan to the transport minister for approval by the end of October and aims to get the green light from creditors in November, Kyodo said.
JAL President Haruka Nishimatsu will step down and be replaced by someone from outside the company, Kyodo said. (Reporting by Nobuhiro Kubo; Editing by Hugh Lawson and Joseph Radford)