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LIAT/Caribbean
Star to complete merger June 15 |
May 18, 2007:
Regional carriers LIAT and Caribbean Star will finalise
their merger 15 June, officials of the two carriers
announced Tuesday.
The announcement followed a meeting in Bridgetown which was
attended by the leaders of Antigua & Barbuda and Barbados –
two of the three shareholder countries – and Sir Allen
Stanford, the sole shareholder of Caribbean Star Airlines.
St. Vincent & the Grenadines Prime Minister Dr. Ralph
Gonsalves, the head of the other shareholder government, did
not attend the meeting due to illness.
Antigua & Barbuda Prime Minister Baldwin Spencer told
journalists that LIAT was close to acquiring new financing
from the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) and the Stanford
Financial Group had also lent the LIAT shareholder
governments US$25 million for the purpose of providing a
bridge loan until the loan by the CDB was finalised.
“What is required of the Stanford Financial Group at this
point in time, is the bridging loan of US$25 million in
light of the offer that is being examined and hopefully will
eventually be approved by this regional financial
institution, to ensure that during the period that whatever
LIAT has to take care of in terms of its immediate financial
needs, that the bridging loan of some US$25 million will
adequately take care of those situations,” Spencer said. |
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As agreed in
March, the ownership of the new airline will be 65 per cent
to the Caribbean Shareholder governments and other LIAT
shareholders and 35 per cent to the Stanford Financial
Group, Spencer said.
However, LIAT’s Chairman Jean Holder was critical of St.
Lucia, which announced last week that it had reached
agreement with American Eagle for the introduction of a
service between that island and Barbados.
“Let’s not give up on LIAT yet. I think that what the
Caribbean countries need to do is gather around their own
airlines, talk to them. There are three countries that carry
this airline. They have been carrying it for years. Where
are the others? And we have served them all. We serve 22
countries everyday.
“We have to start supporting our own people and our own
carriers and our own everything in this region or you will
never get anywhere. I have to be strong on this because I
have seen it happen for 50 years,” Holder said.
Last week St. Lucia’s Tourism Minister Alan Chastanet
announced that permission had been granted to American Eagle
to operate the St. Lucia/Barbados route in an effort to
drive down high air fares. |
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