 |
| |
|
|
Az
|
 |
MACEDONIA - It's the name of the sovereign country to the north of Greece
Apr 2000
time: 07:32
|
|
http://www.haaretzdaily.com/hasen/spages/559085.html
quote:
Arkia employees buy their company
By Zohar Blumenkrantz and Omri Cohen
Arkia Airlines' employees bought Knafaim's 75 percent stake in the carrier for $12 million yesterday. Since the union already owned 25 percent of the airline, the deal gives the workers 100 percent ownership.
Under the deal, the workers also received an option to buy Knafaim's shares in the travel agencies Issta and Kishrei Te'ufa, at a price to be determined by a mutually agreed assessor and subject to the consent of parties that hold the right of first refusal on the shares. Knafaim owns 25 percent of both companies.
Media reports have suggested that the workers coordinated the options deal with the New York based-Nakash brothers, who would then come in as strategic investors after the options were exercised.
The Arkia sale was mandated by Antitrust Commissioner Dror Strum after the Borovitch family, which owns Knafaim, purchased 39.6 percent of El Al from the state.
In a statement to the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange yesterday, Knafaim said that it believes that with the sale of Arkia and an option to buy Issta and Kishrei Te'ufa, coupled with the earlier sale of its 25 percent stake in another company, Arnon Paz, it believes that it has fulfilled all of Strum's conditions, and there is therefore no longer any need for him to appoint a trustee for Knafaim - a move he had threatened to take if Arkia were not sold.
"The sale to Arkia's workers reflects the relations of mutual trust between Knafaim's shareholders and Arkia's workers, which led to Arkia's growth, via mutual cooperation, over many years," said Israel Borovitch, CEO of Knafaim and chairman of the board of El Al, after the sale. "I wish Arkia's workers great success."
Meanwhile, Knafaim published its financial statements for 2004 yesterday. The company reported a 3.3 percent decline in revenues compared to 2003, from $174.9 million to $169.1 million. Nevertheless, it turned a profit of $1.46 million for the year, compared to a loss of $2 million in 2003.
In the fourth quarter, the company posted a loss of $2 million on revenues of $30.9 million. |
This is great: the workers will now be the masters of their own faith.
Of course, this is just a reason to open a fresh new cap/com thread, and this time, the issue is worker-owned corporations: do we need much more of those around? Are they superior to ordinary corps?
Discuss! 
|
|
| |
|
|
|
Flubber
|
|
With a view of the Rockies
Aug 2000
time: 22:32
|
|
IMHO any workers that want to buy their employer are free to do so. I actually see nothing anti-capitalist in this and am neutral on whther there should be more or less worker owned corps.
|
|
| |
|
|
|
Kontiki
|
|
Canada
Aug 2001
time: 00:32
|
|
quote:
Originally posted by Wezil
How many planes do they have. I can't imagine a $16 million airline is very large...? |
Not many, I'd say, especially given that Israel isn't exactly big and this isn't their main airline. You could probably do some rough figuring from their financials. They seem to do about $170 million in revenues. WestJet did just over a billion (Canadian) with around 50 planes. So figure Knafaim is about one-fifth the size.
Edit: And that might be overstating it, considering Knafaim seems to have ownership interests in other ventures.
|
|
| |
|
|
|
Flubber
|
|
With a view of the Rockies
Aug 2000
time: 22:32
|
|
quote:
Originally posted by Azazel
They do own it, while the work in it, which is the best part of it. |
Do they own something if they lose that ownership without compensation if they die, quit or become unable to work?
If I truly own something, I ( or my estate) continues ownership until I sell it or volunatrily surrender it
|
|
| |
|
| |
|
|
|
shawnmmcc
|
|
UAL ESOP left much of the board in place, and never did quite get control of the corporation. That was one of the major problems, it was a bastard plan and was a very effective vehicle to profit off the employees while still maintaining control/exorbitant salaries for the corporate officers/board. By the time 9/11 happened, the situation was so f**ked up that the airline had the worst of both worlds, i.e. ESOP and normal incestuous coporate/board officers.
From Business Week.
quote:
Then in October, United's ALPA chapter elected a militant, Frederick C. Dubinsky, to replace pro-ESOP Michael Glawe as its chairman. Dubinsky led several of ALPA's early buyout efforts at United but opposed the 1994 ESOP because it didn't give labor more control for its 55% stake. He came to power again by promising to win big pay hikes. After that, the pilots will address ''the ESOP perpetuation contingent on the right condition, and that is how much we're paying for the stock'' in wage or benefit cuts, says Dubinsky....
The wild ride of UAL stock has also helped erode employees' enthusiasm for the ESOP. The company's shares more than quadrupled since the buyout through 1997, handily beating the market. But the stock has plunged by some 45% since April, 1999, as airlines stocks were savaged by high oil prices. And since an ESOP is a retirement plan, employees can't sell until they retire or leave the company. ''A lot of guys don't want to take the chance that the stock is going to be valuable when they retire,'' says George Ramirez, a United pilot since 1988. Agrees one lower-paid baggage handler: ''I'd like to invest myself, take my own chances.''
United employees also know they won't be giving up much immediately by letting the current ESOP lapse. Even if the unions stop buying stock this year, they are guaranteed three seats on the 12-member UAL board, a 75% vote on shareholder questions, and veto power over such matters as naming a chairman and approving big acquisitions or spin-offs until their collective holdings drop to 20%. Based on anticipated attrition and retirement rates, the unions don't expect to cross that threshold until about 2016. ''The question is, what's the present value of something that's not going to happen for 15 or 16 years?'' asks one union consultant. |
Note - 55% of the stock, three seats (out of 12!!!) on the board. Only able to sell the stock on retirement. Note that in the normal corporate world with 55% of the stock - you de facto control the corporation, unless there are special categories of stock. Bad example, and the employees feel for that one hook, line, and sinker.
Last edited by shawnmmcc on 31-03-2005 at 23:37
|
|
| |
|
| |
All times are GMT. The time now is 05:32.
Apolyton Time is 00:32. |
top of page
|
|
|
Forum Rules:
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts
|
HTML code is ON
vB code is ON
Smilies are ON
[IMG] code is ON
|
|
|
|
|
|
31-03-2005 21:55
They were a subsidiary! 
|