28/11/2008 02:57
Buenos Aires Herald - Nota - Argentina - Pág.3
Aerolíneas takeover heads for debate
>Committees stage cleared in Lower House

The Lower House Budget and General Legislation committees yesterday cleared the way for the debate of the Aerolíneas Argentinas takeover bill, which will be discussed next Wednesday in the Lower House.

The government expects to pass the bill and nationalize both Aerolíneas and Austral airliners - owned by Spanish group Marsans - before the end of the year. The bill establishes the airliners are of public interest, which allows the government to expropriate them.
"We will pay zero peso for Aerolíneas," said ruling party deputy Agustín Rossi. "There is a part of the debt that is outstanding and a part that is not," he added.

The Marsans group - which owns 94.6 percent of Aerolíneas and 97 percent of Austral - has stated it will sue the government before an international tribunal if the takeover is approved.
In July, the government and Marsans signed an agreement on the takeover conditions in which each party would name a price for the company and, in case of disagreement, a third price estimate would be made by a neutral part. Still, the Congress approved a bailout law in September, which allows it to have the last word on the price of sale.

The government said both Aerolíneas and Austral had a "negative value" of 832.8 million dollars, while Marsans claims Aerolíneas is valued at 60 million and Austral at 380 million, according to a valuation made by Credit Suisse bank.

The government rejected the idea of a third valuation - as stipulated in July's agreement- for which Marsans says it will press charges against the state in international courts.
Opposition leaders were trying to reach a consensus in order to introduce an alternative takeover bill, which aims to expropriate only the assets of the company and not its debt.
Still, reports said the opposition lawmakers were not close to reaching an agreement, as some - like PRO Deputy Federico Pinedo - proposed to declare Aerolíneas bankrupt before the government takes over the company instead of buying its assets.

"We have to establish which part of the debt is legitimate and which is not," said Civic Coalition Deputy Juan Carlos Morán, who added he was against declaring the compa vies as public interest.
Rossi was critical about the opposition plan. "It would lead to the state paying 1.2 billion dollars," he said. "Our bill is the best option in the legal aspect, and the most profitable in economic terms," added Rossi.

The government says the takeover bill is necessary in order to control the country's communication in case Aerolíneas goes bankrupt, as the airliner manages about 80 percent of the country's air traffic and also is in charge of mail distribution. Marsans, on the other hand, says the company was led to its current financial situation be cause the government does not allow the group to increase fares.
Aerolíneas - a previously staterun company privatized in the early 90's - is run by Marsans since 2001, after the company filed for bankruptcy.

In other news, the Senate's Budget Committee will begin to discuss the extension of the Economic Emergency Law next Tuesday. The law, introduced at the peak of the 2001-2002 meltdown of the Argentine economy, grants the administration special powers in that field.