Star Alliance - $60m 'poison pill' awaits if Air NZ quits group

A Qantas-controlled Air New Zealand will be stung with a $US25 million ($59.8 million) exit fee if it breaks away from the global Star Alliance to join the rival Oneworld grouping.

The $60 million "poison pill" is one of a number of penalties Star Alliance recently put in place to protect its business if members quit following ownership changes.

Air New Zealand would be stung with quarterly cash contributions towards Star Alliance for a two-year period after giving notice. Air New Zealand customers would also be prevented from transferring their Star Points across to fly on Qantas linkups. Their flights on Air New Zealand would continue to be accrued as Star Points during the notice period.

The $60 million poison pill is just one of a number of obstacles which has emerged since the Qantas plan to wrest control of Air New Zealand and dominate the Australasian aviation market was unveiled on Tuesday.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/storydisplay.cfm?storyID=192393&thesection=news&thesubsection=general

What if they just quit STAR-ALLIANCE period, before it changes hands?

As TG is a potential quitter, what happens to them as well.

Time will tell! http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif

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Qantas Bid to Take Singapore Airline's Stake in Air New Zealand Could Lead to Major Shakeup in Asia-Pacific Airline Industry
http://www.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0105/30/i_ba.01.html

Air New Zealand would have to pay quarterly cash contributions towards Star Alliance for a two-year period after giving notice. Air New Zealand customers would also be prevented from transferring their Star Points across to fly on Qantas linkups. Their flights on Air New Zealand would continue to be accrued as Star Points during the notice period.
http://news.airwise.com/stories/2001/05/991310608.html

[This message has been edited by doc (edited 05-31-2001).]

The use of the term "poison pill" in this context would make anyone with even the slightest "corporate law" knowledge laugh (I am laughing).

A "poison pill" or "shareholder rights plan" (I just love that term) is a mechanism pursuant to which a company tries to protect itself against unauthorized acquisitions by outsiders of a significant percentage of its stock (usually 10%-20%) [this is a simplied explanation of what the term means; for the more detailed version contact me @ work $$$ http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif].

[This message has been edited by NYC1 (edited 05-31-2001).]