Kansas City Business News
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Midwest Air Group Acquired by TPG Capital
KANSAS CITY, (PRNewswire-FirstCall), August 19, 2007 - Midwest Air Group (AMEX:MEH), parent company of Midwest Airlines - the second-largest carrier at Kansas City International Airport, has announced that it has signed a definitive merger agreement to be acquired by an affiliate of TPG Capital, L.P. in a transaction valued at approximately $450 million. The merger agreement was unanimously approved by the Midwest Air Group Board of Directors.
Under the terms of the agreement, each outstanding share of Midwest's common stock will be converted into the right to receive $17.00 per share in cash. On December 12, 2006, the last trading day before the public announcement of AirTran's indication of interest in acquiring Midwest, the per share price of Midwest's common stock was $9.08. Midwest has approximately 26.6 million shares outstanding, including shares subject to options, restricted share awards and outstanding warrants.
"This is a significant milestone for Midwest," said Timothy E. Hoeksema, chairman and chief executive officer. "The agreement preserves the airline's status as Milwaukee's hometown airline and the popular Midwest Airlines brand for Midwest's loyal customers and employees. TPG shares our commitment to quality and truly understands the value of a differentiated product. We're looking forward to a long-term relationship with TPG, and benefiting from their strength and experience."
Richard P. Schifter, partner, TPG Capital, added, "TPG is excited about the opportunity to invest in Midwest Airlines, which has managed to preserve a quality of service to its passengers rarely seen today. We look forward to working with management and its highly motivated workforce in driving growth and creating more value. We hope that our industry experience, together with an expanded alliance with Northwest Airlines, will lead to a bigger and better Midwest."
The transaction is expected to be completed in the fourth quarter of 2007. All financing for the transaction is in the form of equity and has been committed. No debt financing is required. The transaction is subject to approval by Midwest's shareholders, as well as other customary conditions, including anti-trust approvals.
The agreement with TPG came at the conclusion of a process in which TPG and AirTran were each asked to submit a "best and final" offer by noon Central time on August 16, 2007. At that time, TPG submitted its $17.00 per share proposal.
Countrywide Supplements Funding Liquidity Position
KANSAS CITY, (SLFP.com), August 19, 2007 - Countrywide Financial Corporation has announced that it has supplemented its funding liquidity position by drawing on an $11.5 billion credit facility. In addition, the Company has accelerated its plans to migrate its mortgage production operations into Countrywide Bank, FSB.
"As we have previously discussed, secondary market demand for non-agency mortgage-backed securities has been disrupted in recent weeks," said David Sambol, President and Chief Operating Officer. "Along with reduced liquidity in the secondary market, funding liquidity for the mortgage industry has also become constrained.
"For many years, Countrywide's liquidity management framework has focused on maintaining a diverse, multi-layered assortment of financing alternatives," said Sambol. "A primary component of this framework is a committed, unsecured credit facility of $11.5 billion provided by a syndicate of 40 of the world's largest banks. In response to widely-reported market conditions, Countrywide has elected to draw upon this entire facility to supplement its funding liquidity position. Over 70 percent of this facility has an existing term greater than four years and the remainder has a term of at least 364 days.
"Countrywide has taken decisive steps which we believe will address the challenges arising in this environment and enable the Company to meet its funding needs and continue growing its franchise. Importantly, in addition to the significant liquidity which we have accessed from our bank lines, the Company's primary strategy going forward is to fund its production through Countrywide Bank, FSB. We are already originating in excess of 70 percent of our total origination volume through the Bank, and expect to accelerate our strategy so that nearly all of our volume will be originated in our Bank by the end of September.
"Furthermore, as a result of lessened liquidity for loans which are not eligible for delivery to the GSEs, Countrywide has materially tightened its underwriting standards for such loans, and, we now expect that 90 percent of the loans we originate will be GSE-eligible or will meet our Bank's investment criteria.
"Our objective is to navigate the difficult conditions in today's market as we complete the transition of our Bank business and funding strategy," Sambol concluded. "With these changes, we believe we are well-positioned to leverage opportunities presented by a consolidating industry."
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