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ADNOC secures $11 billion in financing for future gas production
Lukoil abandons Ghasha Project, gives ADNOC 10% stake Demand from Asian lenders including Chinese banks The first gas production is expected by the end of this decade Yousef SABA DUBAI, December 18 - Abu Dhabi National Oil Company announced on Thursday that it had secured an $11 billion?structured financing in order to monetise the future gas production of its Hail?and?Ghasha project, following the withdrawal by Russia's Lukoil. The deal was signed with Eni and PTTEP, and involves 20 global and local banks. The deal uses a pre-export financing model, backed by future throughput of gas, to provide upfront cash, years before the first production is expected at the end of the decade. This transaction is part of ADNOC’s strategy to leverage the balance sheet in order to?fund its transition into a major global energy company. The company previously used lease-leaseback agreements for infrastructure, and listed six subsidiaries to raise millions of dollars. The company also created XRG, a global investment arm with assets of more than 150?billion dollars, including Germany's Covestro. LUKOIL EXITS GHASHA ADNOC's spokesperson said that Lukoil had withdrawn from the concession after it doubled its stake to 10% in?Ghasha earlier this year. ADNOC spokesperson confirmed that Lukoil sold its stake in ADNOC to ADNOC after the sanctions, but refused to give further details. The move comes after Lukoil tried to divest itself of its foreign operations but was stymied by U.S. Sanctions imposed in October to pressure Russia to end the war in Ukraine. A source familiar with the deal stated that it was the first greenfield pre-export financing based on?gas. This allows ADNOC lower its equity contribution while improving returns. Non-recourse funding includes 11 local and regional banks as well as seven Asian banks and three Western lenders including Citi, Bank of China, and ICBC. The source added that?ADNOC had secured attractive rates. Chinese banks provided over a third the financing for Saudi Aramco Jafurah. This project is potentially the largest shale-gas project outside the U.S. and aims to produce 2 billion standard cubic feet of gas per day by 2030. ADNOC CEO Sultan Al Jaber said in a press release that Hail and Ghasha is "an important contributor to ADNOC’s gas strategy" and will generate significant value. The company aims to produce 1.8 billion cubic feet per day of gas while emitting zero emissions.
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ADNOC secures $11 billion in financing for future gas production
Lukoil abandons Ghasha Project, gives ADNOC 10% stake Demand from Asian lenders including Chinese banks The first gas production is expected by the end of this decade Yousef SABA DUBAI, December '18 - Abu Dhabi National Oil Company secured $11 billion of structured financing to monetize future gas production at its Hail and Ghasha project, the?state company announced on Thursday. This was after Russia's Lukoil pulled out of the project. This deal was signed with Eni and PTTEP and involves 20 global and local banks. The deal uses a pre-export financing model, backed by future throughput of gas, to provide upfront cash, years before the first production is expected at the end the decade. ADNOC has been leveraging its balance sheet to fund a transition into a global powerhouse of energy. The company previously used lease-leaseback agreements for infrastructure, and listed six subsidiaries in order to raise billions of dollars. The company also created XRG, a global investment arm with assets of more than 150 billion dollars, including Germany's Covestro. LUKOIL EXITS GHASHA ADNOC's spokesperson said that Lukoil had exited their?concession by November after doubling its stake to 10% earlier this year. ADNOC spokesperson confirmed that Lukoil had transferred its stake in ADNOC as a result of the sanctions, but refused to give further details. The move comes after Lukoil tried to divest itself of its foreign operations but was stymied by U.S. Sanctions imposed in October to pressure Russia to end the war in Ukraine. A source close to this deal stated that it was the first greenfield gas-based pre-export financing. She added that the ADNOC could lower its equity contribution while improving returns. Non-recourse funding includes 11 local and regional banks, 7 Asian banks and 3 Western lenders including Citi, Bank of China, and ICBC. The source added that ADNOC had negotiated attractive rates. Chinese banks provided over a third the financing for Saudi Aramco’s Jafurah project, the largest shale-gas project outside the U.S. that aims to produce 2 billion standard cubic feet of gas per day by 2030. ADNOC CEO Sultan Al Jaber said in a press release that Hail and Ghasha is "an important contributor to ADNOC’s gas strategy" and will generate significant value. The company aims to produce 1.8 billion cubic feet per day of gas while emitting zero emissions.
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Aena buys majority stakes in UK Airports for $360 Million
Aena, the airport operator in Spain, announced on Thursday that it had 'agreed' to purchase a 51% stake in a new holding company in the UK which owns Leeds Bradford Airport as well as a part of Newcastle Airport for 270 millions pounds ($360.88). The acquisition 'aligns' with Aena’s drive to expand internationally, since the group aims to have overseas operations account for 15 percent of EBITDA by 2026. This is after the company’s?chief executive stated that the company plans to grow through asset purchases. Aena now owns Leeds Bradford, and has a 49% share in Newcastle. InfraBridge retains the remaining 49%. In a press release, Chief Executive Maurici Lucena stated that "this is an 'important step' for Aena as it relates to countries?with a strong potential like the UK where we already have a long-standing history". The transaction is expected to be completed in the second quarter 2026.
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BNP Paribas to purchase Mercedes-Benz car leasing unit for $1.2 billion
BNP Paribas has been in exclusive negotiations with Mercedes-Benz in order to acquire its car-leasing company Athlon. The French bank announced this on Thursday. BNP said that the acquisition would help strengthen its position on the European vehicle lease market, through its Arval division, by adding about 400,000 vehicles under full-service financing to its fleet. BNP's Arval division currently has a total fleet of 1.9 millions vehicles. In an interview, BNP Chief Operating Officer Thierry Laborde stated that this transaction was very important. It would allow the group to become the European leader for long-term rental cars. BNP Paribas will be able to offer a fleet of 2.3 million vehicles with full service leasing. This would bring BNP's total down to just under 2.3 million. The gap between BNP and the European market leader Ayvens (Societe Generale's listed auto-leasing division) which had a funded fleet of 2.6 million cars at the end September, is narrowing. Ayvens has also?another 655,000 vehicles that are under fleet management. Full-service leasing is a form of full-service management, where the provider manages and finances the vehicle, as well as bundles it with a monthly fixed fee. The vehicles are typically sold at the end. Mercedes-Benz uses the proceeds of various?divestments in order to invest back into its core business. BNP is the largest bank in the eurozone by assets. The acquisition fits with their ambitions to expand into the vehicle leasing sector. French lender says integration will result in cost savings of up to 18% and a return on capital invested of 18%. The transaction will contribute to the net income per share of the group by close to 200 millions euros in the third year following completion. BNP said that the deal will have a limited impact on its capital position. The expected Common Equity Tier 1 Ratio Impact of approximately 13 basis point has already been factored into the group's capital path of 13% at the end of 2027. Laborde stated that the group is expecting to sign a sales and purchase agreement in February or March of next year. The deal will likely close during the third quarter 2026, pending regulatory approvals.
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After a bumpy flight, Lufthansa catches up with European competitors
After another year of mixed results under Carsten Spohr, the German airline group has vowed that its ambitious turnaround plan will become a reality in 2026. The group's share price has fallen by around a third since Spohr became CEO in 2014. The stock rose in 2017 but was then hit by the Covid-19 Pandemic. It has since struggled to recover, becoming a laggard among European airlines. According to LSEG, if you had invested the day Spohr took over as CEO, you would have lost 18%, including dividends. That's 1.7% annually. LSEG data shows that although its shares have closed their gap with its rivals over the past few months, they still underperformed because Lufthansa's financial and operational performance lags behind its competitors. Lufthansa's shares have risen 26% over the past six months. This compares to British Airways owner IAG, which has seen its share price rise by 35% and Air France-KLM up 44.6%. LUFTHANSA TRYING to WIDEN ITS MARGINS Investors are concerned that the struggles of Lufthansa with its cost structure and labour force is affecting their confidence and margins. Analysts predict that the group operating margin will be 4.8% by 2025, down from 7.6% last year. This is lower than IAG or Air France-KLM. Spohr has made changes, such as cutting 4,000 administrative positions over five years and retiring older planes in order to achieve an operating margin of 8% to 10% by 2030. This has impressed a few investors. Lufthansa wants to simplify its complicated structure that includes six hubs, nine passenger airline 'brands' ranging from Italian flag-carrier ITA Airways up to budget offering Eurowings. Transatlantic travel is softening, but global headwinds are increasing. Lufthansa could be slowed down by problems with the supply chain for its long-awaited Boeing planes, and also by difficult union negotiations.
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Optus' September outage review in Australia flags gaps for urgent protocol
Optus, Australia’s second largest telecoms services provider, announced on Thursday that a?independent review of its September outage? found gaps in process, accountability and protocols for information. The review "highlighted challenges in Optus' culture that have impacted decision-making and response times," the Singapore Telecommunications-owned company said in ?a statement. Review revealed that 75% out of 605 emergency calls made on September 18 failed to connect. This led to the deaths of two people. The outage, which was caused by an issue with the network firewall, lasted for?13 hours, and affected hundreds of customers. The telecom carrier claimed that the failure was caused by a deviation from standard procedures during a network update. This prevented customers from calling triple zero ("000") in an emergency. The firm said that at its December 16 meeting, the board of?Optus accepted all recommendations and "agreed" to implement them quickly. John Arthur, the board's chairman, said that "the board will take further action in relation to individual accountability arising from the incident. This may include financial penalties or termination where appropriate." Optus stated that the independent review made 21 recommendations. It said this was based on its multi-year transformation, and changes already implemented after deficiencies were identified in their initial incident response. Reporting by Shivangi lahiri from Bengaluru, Editing by Alan Barona and Rashmi aich; Subhranshu Sahu.
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US admits responsibility in fatal helicopter crash involving American Airlines jet
The?U.S. The?Justice Department announced late on Wednesday that the federal government is liable for the deadly collision between an Army Black Hawk helicopter, and American Airlines Regional Jet which killed 67 near Reagan Washington National Airport. The government acknowledged that it had "a duty of care" to the plaintiffs which it breached -?thereby proximately leading to the tragic accident. It also admitted that the pilots on the Army helicopter as well as the regional jet failed to maintain "vigilance to avoid each other". According to the Justice Department, a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)?air traffic controller also failed to comply with an FAA directive and that as a result both agencies' conduct was liable. The FAA refused to comment. Robert Clifford said that the lawsuit was filed by the family of a victim of the crash. The filing shows "the United States admits its responsibility for the needless deaths in the crash... as well as FAA's failures to follow air-traffic control procedures." Clifford said that the government "rightfully acknowledges it is not alone responsible for this deadly crash and that, in fact, its conduct was only one of many causes of the deaths that evening." American Airlines filed a motion Wednesday to dismiss the case. The airline said it sympathized with the families "desire to seek redress for the tragedy", but that the "proper recourse was not against American." The United States government is the one to be blamed. The court should dismiss American from the lawsuit." In March, the FAA restricted helicopter flights after the National Transportation Safety Board stated that their presence near Reagan National posed "intolerable risks" to civilian aircraft. The FAA banned the Army in May from flying helicopters around the Pentagon following a close call which forced two civilian aircraft to abort their landings. The U.S. Senate passed a bill to tighten the rules for military helicopters on Wednesday.
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Optus's September outage review in Australia flags urgent protocol gap
Optus - Australia's second largest telecoms service provider - said that an independent review of a?September?outage had found gaps in the process, accountability, escalated communication, and information protocol protocols. These need urgent attention. In a statement, the firm said that "the independent review highlighted challenges in Optus’ culture which have affected decision-making and response times." Optus' technical failure on September 18 disrupted emergency services, affecting 600 people. Four people died. The?telecom company said at the time that a deviation?from the standard processes during an upgrade of the network caused the technical failure which prevented customers from making triple zero ("000") emergency calls. Optus said that its board met on Tuesday, 16 December and accepted all of the recommendations. They "agreed?to move quickly with their implementation", according to a statement released on Thursday. Chairman John Arthur stated that "the 'Board will take further action regarding individual accountability resulting from the incident. This may include financial penalties up to termination in appropriate cases." Optus stated that the independent review made 21 recommendations. It said this was based on its multi-year transformation, and the changes it had already implemented after shortcomings in its initial response to incidents were identified. Reporting by Shivangi lahiri from Bengaluru, Editing by Alan Barona & Rashmi aich
The architect of Delta Air Lines premium strategy will retire in February
Delta Air Lines announced on Wednesday that Glen Hauenstein will retire from his position as president in February. Hauenstein is the architect of Delta's "premium focused strategy".
Hauenstein, 64 years old, has been president of the Atlanta-based airline since 2016. Hauenstein, 64, joined the Atlanta-based airline?in 2005 and has served as president since 2016.
He promoted high-end products, and convinced travelers to pay for seats such as first class that were previously given away as upgrades.
The strategy delivered'strong results': premium products accounted 43% of Delta passenger revenue in the last quarter, up eight percentage points compared to pre-pandemic levels.
Executives expect that revenue from premium cabins will surpass main cabin ticket sales by 2026.
Ed Bastian, Chief Executive of Delta Airlines, said that Glen's vision and strategic mind-set were essential to the transformation of Delta into "the leading global carrier we are today".
Analysts at Jefferies say that under Hauenstein, Delta generated more revenue per passenger than any of its competitors, and more than double the average for the industry.
Its success has compelled rivals United Airlines and American Airlines, who have invested heavily in upgrading cabins and providing luxury experiences on the ground to attract high-paying passengers.
Hauenstein was also responsible for the change in loyalty programs, which now reward total expenditure rather than actual miles flown. This model is now common among all major U.S. airlines.
Robert Mann, an ex-airline executive and consultant, said: "It is hard to tell if you are lucky or good. But I'd say that he had been good before he became 'lucky'."
Hauenstein played a key role in expanding Delta’s global footprint. He built a network that spans six continents, and formed joint ventures with carriers such as Virgin Atlantic and Air France-KLM.
He will retire from Delta on 28 February, but he will remain as a strategist adviser until 2026.
Joe Esposito was named executive vice president and chief business officer by the airline. Esposito is a senior vice president in network planning. Esposito is responsible for revenue management, sales and the SkyMiles program. (Reporting and editing by Chris Reese; Rajesh Kumar Singh).
(source: Reuters)