Shareholders Scuttle Qantas Takeover Bid

The $9.1 billion takeover bid for the Australian airline Qantas by a private equity consortium has failed.

The consortium, Airline Partners Australia, says it had secured only 46 percent of Qantas shares when a deadline for its takeover offer expired Friday.

The consortium, led by Macquarie Bank, Australia’s largest investment bank, and the U.S. private equity firm Texas Pacific Group, needed 50 percent of the airline for its offer of $4.47 a share to be extended another two weeks.

Other consortium members include the Canadian private equity firm Onex Corp. and the Australian investment groups, Allco Equity Partners and Allco Finance.

APA remains firm in the view that its ownership[p of and plans for Qantas would have significantly enhanced the airline, guaranteed strong growth and been beneficial for employees and customers, APA said in a statement.

The consortium partners also believe that the price offered for Qantas shares was fair and reasonable and remains so.

The Sydney Morning Herald reported the bid had become increasingly unpopular after the consortium conceded it planned to gouge $3.6 billion from the airline’s balance sheet to help fund the takeover.

The newspaper said the Qantas board would meet in emergency session Saturday with the chairwoman, Margaret Jackson, under pressure to resign following her strong endorsement of the takeover bid.