Fernandes’ Tune Air sells 2% of AirAsia

KUALA LUMPUR: Entrepreneur Datuk Seri Tony Fernandes’ private vehicle Tune Air Sdn Bhd last Monday raised just over RM150 million by selling 2% in AirAsia Bhd, the budget airline, a stock exchange filing showed yesterday evening.

The shares, sold to “a domestic long-term institutional investor”, were meant to broaden AirAsia’s local long-term institutional investor base, the filing dated June 2 read.

The transaction price was not disclosed. However, some 55.5 million AirAsia shares changed hands off-market in a single block for RM158.18 million or RM2.85 a share on May 30, about 5.6% below the RM3.02 apiece the stock was going for last Monday.

The announcement came even as his Twitter followers discuss his failed attempt to buy a stake in West Ham United Football Club, and within days of a much-discussed share disposal by Tony Davis, CEO of Singapore-listed rival Tiger Airways Ltd.

Davis recently sold more shares in Tiger Airways at a discount of about 5% to the stock’s IPO price of S$1.50 (RM3.67) apiece, sparking concerns about the budget carrier’s longer-term outlook, analysts said. The one million shares Davis sold at S$1.42 apiece was almost a quarter of his holdings. Tiger closed at S$1.33 on the Singapore Exchange yesterday.
Fernandes' Tune Air rakes in over RM150 million from selling a 2% stake in AirAsia.

Fernandes yesterday described Davis’s disposals as “interesting” on his Twitter account. His deemed stake in AirAsia falls to 640.6 million shares or 23.08% following the sale, the filing dated June 2 showed. Fernandes, the CEO of AirAsia and Team Lotus Formula One boss, owns another 2.63 million shares or a 0.09% stake directly in AirAsia.

Fernandes’ partner Datuk Kamarudin Meranun, AirAsia deputy group CEO, who with Fernandes co-founded the carrier and the Tune Group, is also deemed interested in the AirAsia shares held by Tune Air.

Analysts polled on Bloomberg were still largely bullish on AirAsia’s prospects at the time of writing. There were 22 “buy” calls against two “hold” and two “sell” with price targets ranging from RM2 to RM4.80 apiece. AirAsia closed at RM2.99 yesterday, up 18.2% year-to-date, but about 5.1% off its recent high of RM3.15 on May 11.