Shareholders overwhelmingly endorse Burnes takeover.
An Extraordinary General Meeting of Helloworld shareholders has just approved the merger proposal with the AOT Group, which will see Andrew and Cinzia Burnes become directors and 40% shareholders of the company.
The deal, which was proposed in November last year, has been the subject of an Independent’s Expert’s Report which found that it was “not fair, but reasonable” and in the best interests of the non-associated HLO shareholders in the absence of a superior proposal.
The merger is structured as the acquisition of AOT by Helloworld, with the company issuing 36.45 million new HLO shares along with a cash payment of $25 million to the Burnes’.
Andrew Burnes will become ceo of the company, while Cinzia Burnes will become an Executive Director. Other directors will include nominees from each of Helloworld’s other major shareholders representing Qantas, the Alysandratos family’s Sintack and Europe Voyager.
Votes representing more than 97% of shareholders were directed in favour of the proposal.
The company said it would provide further information on the outlook for the merged company when it releases its interim financial results on 24th February.
More details in today’s issue of Travel Daily.