Atlas Air takeover moves ahead after shareholders approval

The takeover of Atlas Air Worldwide Holdings took a step forward yesterday when the firm’s shareholders voted to approve the deal.

More than 99% of the shareholder votes cast were in favor of the adoption of the agreement, which represented approximately 80.9% of the outstanding shares of company’s common stock.

The final voting results will be set forth in a Form 8-K filed by Atlas with the US Securities and Exchange Commission.

Atlas Air said it expects the deal to be completed in the first quarter of next year.

The deal will make Atlas Air a privately held company and its stock will no longer be listed on the Nasdaq stock exchange.

The acquisition is by an investor group led by funds managed by affiliates of Apollo Global Management, together with investment affiliates of JF Lehman & Company and Hill City Capital.

The takeover has an all-cash transaction with an enterprise valuation of approximately $5.2bn.

“We are pleased to receive overwhelming support from Atlas Air Worldwide shareholders, who recognise this transaction provides compelling value to them while giving us the opportunity to execute our strategic plan,” said John Dietrich, president and chief executive of Atlas Air Worldwide.

“This is another step forward to completing the transaction as we advance our leadership in airfreight and deliver high-quality services to our customers around the world.”

The deal has faced some obstacles with a lawsuit against the company for alleged violations of the securities exchange act.

Meanwhile, Atlas Air Worldwide Holdings saw its profits and volumes decline in the third quarter of the year due to a rise in Covid cases and the impact of Hurricane Ian.

However, the firm has bounced back since then with new deals to operate aircraft on behalf of Kuehne+Nagel and MSC Air Cargo.