Kuwait-based Agility, one of the biggest logistics companies in the Mena region, has finalised its £763 million ($921.5m) acquisition of UK-based aviation company John Menzies in a deal that creates the world's biggest aviation services provider.
Agility will be merging its subsidiary, National Aviation Services (NAS), with John Menzies, after having completed all regulatory requirements, it said in a filing on Thursday to the Dubai Financial Market, where its shares are traded.
The combined entity in the deal will operate as Menzies Aviation, which will become the world’s largest airport services company by number of countries and second largest by number of airports served, Agility said.
The combined revenue of John Menzies and NAS exceeded $1.5 billion in 2021, and the merged company will have about 35,000 employees and operations at 254 airports spread across 58 countries on six continents.
Menzies Aviation is poised to handle 600,000 aircraft turns, two million tonnes of air cargo and 2.5 million fuelling turns annually.
“Menzies and NAS will create the world leader in aviation services,” said NAS chief executive Hassan El Houry, who will become chairman of Menzies Aviation.
“We will have the scale and resources to expand and grow as the industry recovers from the Covid-19 pandemic. Commercial aviation is a key engine of global economic growth, and our customers need partners they can count on as flight volumes return.”
The aviation industry's growth was affected by the coronavirus-induced slowdown but has since recovered as restrictions and flight bans related to the health crisis were lifted.
Airlines are expected to narrow their losses in 2022 — from $42bn last year to $9.7bn this year — as air travel demand rebounds strongly, with a return to profitability expected in 2023, the International Air Transport Association said in June.
The airport services market is expected to be valued at about $98bn in 2022 and grow to more than $290.23bn by 2029 at a compound annual rate of about 17 per cent, according to Fortune Business Insights.
Meanwhile, global air cargo demand dropped 6.4 per cent annually in June as new export orders fell and the Russia-Ukraine war limited freight capacity, IATA said on Wednesday.
Agility said last month that it was refinancing and more than doubling its credit lines to fund the John Menzies acquisition and drive other plans for business growth.
Menzies Aviation's customers will include the UAE's Emirates and Flydubai, Air Canada, Air China, Air France-KLM and American Airlines.
“Agility’s backing gives us the resources to provide innovative solutions for growing and forward-thinking customers, and to develop our talent, technology and sustainability — critical factors for our future success,” said Philipp Joeinig, who will become chief executive of the combined company.
“It also means we are well-positioned to support our customers in tackling supply chain challenges and labour shortages.”
Agility reported a 1 per cent rise in its fiscal first-quarter net income as revenue surged 22.3 per cent to 132.1m Kuwaiti dinars ($430m) in the quarter.
Net profit attributable to equity holders for the period ended March climbed to 12.8m dinars.
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Price, base: Dh840,000; Dh120,000
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How will Gen Alpha invest?
Mark Chahwan, co-founder and chief executive of robo-advisory firm Sarwa, forecasts that Generation Alpha (born between 2010 and 2024) will start investing in their teenage years and therefore benefit from compound interest.
“Technology and education should be the main drivers to make this happen, whether it’s investing in a few clicks or their schools/parents stepping up their personal finance education skills,” he adds.
Mr Chahwan says younger generations have a higher capacity to take on risk, but for some their appetite can be more cautious because they are investing for the first time. “Schools still do not teach personal finance and stock market investing, so a lot of the learning journey can feel daunting and intimidating,” he says.
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Highlighting the role technology has played in encouraging millennials and Gen Z to invest, he says: “They were often excluded, but with lower account minimums ... a customer with $1,000 [Dh3,672] in their account has their money working for them just as hard as the portfolio of a high get-worth individual.”
The alternatives
• Founded in 2014, Telr is a payment aggregator and gateway with an office in Silicon Oasis. It’s e-commerce entry plan costs Dh349 monthly (plus VAT). QR codes direct customers to an online payment page and merchants can generate payments through messaging apps.
• Business Bay’s Pallapay claims 40,000-plus active merchants who can invoice customers and receive payment by card. Fees range from 1.99 per cent plus Dh1 per transaction depending on payment method and location, such as online or via UAE mobile.
• Tap started in May 2013 in Kuwait, allowing Middle East businesses to bill, accept, receive and make payments online “easier, faster and smoother” via goSell and goCollect. It supports more than 10,000 merchants. Monthly fees range from US$65-100, plus card charges of 2.75-3.75 per cent and Dh1.2 per sale.
• 2checkout’s “all-in-one payment gateway and merchant account” accepts payments in 200-plus markets for 2.4-3.9 per cent, plus a Dh1.2-Dh1.8 currency conversion charge. The US provider processes online shop and mobile transactions and has 17,000-plus active digital commerce users.
• PayPal is probably the best-known online goods payment method - usually used for eBay purchases - but can be used to receive funds, providing everyone’s signed up. Costs from 2.9 per cent plus Dh1.2 per transaction.
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ATP WORLD No 1
2004 Roger Federer
2005 Roger Federer
2006 Roger Federer
2007 Roger Federer
2008 Rafael Nadal
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2010 Rafael Nadal
2011 Novak Djokovic
2012 Novak Djokovic
2013 Rafael Nadal
2014 Novak Djokovic
2015 Novak Djokovic
2016 Andy Murray
2017 Rafael Nadal
2018 Novak Djokovic
2019 Rafael Nadal
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