China needs to step up and take out chubby Kim on their own accord so finally there can be pease in northeast Asia. They're in a better position to quietly take him out than the Americans who will never get close enough.

@ST Sweet. Living the dream. While the rest of us are stuck here in our cubicles stealing glances at this forum on our office issued PCs. Hoping that eventually one day our little nest eggs will hatch into golden eagles and allow us to fly away from our jobs! Just like you!

AmateurPlayer maybe AA will get more love from the big boys once we list on HKSE

SharkTank sounds like you got it pretty good. Not tied to a 9 to 5 by the sounds of it?

Whoa...why the sharp drop?

Ryan Air P/E = 14
I believe AA models it business quite closely after RyanAir which is Europe's top LCC. Just like how AA is Asia's.

Methinks all the geopolitical hoo ha will settle down shortly. Trump and Putin probably came up with the whole Syrian missile strike thing together to deflect attention from their cosy relationship. China will also tell North Korea to calm the f**k down and go sit in the corner like a naughty boy so the grown-ups can talk. I hope I'm right. Coz if I'm wrong we all will have a lot more to worry about than just the stock market.

AA is no babe in the woods and should be able to gain on the first movers quickly.

@ Cindy Ling don't think so. 5% at current price is only about 15 cts. Less 12 cts announced dividend is 3 cts...3 cts for special divvy?? No way.

Do you really think EPF with their stringent compliance and corporate governance requirements will buy into stocks so easily manipulated by "the Syndicate"? Come on. As for insider info leak, have you dealt with any large corporates lately - do you know how crazy paranoid they are about confidentiality these days? You practically have to sign the NDA with your own blood just to get a peek at the most mundane information, let alone highly sensitive information regarding deals of this magnitude.

Chicken littles with their chicken little balls screaming the sky is falling! the sky is falling!

Why tak logic? Most major airlines lease much of their fleet. Allows them to be more nimble and adjust to changes in capacity requirements.

What is CNP?

Public Bank been hating on AirAsia for a long time.

Wonderful... this has been a stellar week for AA. About time this stock got some love. Gonna go back and dream about Air Asia stewardesses in bikinis serving me martinis on a beach. Have a great weekend all.

I don't understand warrants. They are not for me. Good luck to the rest of you though. I'm happy onboard the mothership.

Supersaiyan I share your views on AA. I also intend to hold long term as I believe this is probably the best Malaysian company with the potential to become a truly global star. The brand is already practically universally recognizable - even in Europe. Meantime, am looking forward to a nice fat dividend as a wee present to myself. Here's hoping AAC gets done.

@ignissimia I agree. Don't think the final and binding SPA and SSA documents will be executed on April 7 itself. The slide specifically states "to start" which to me means the documentation process and negotiation of the finer terms commence.

pekor - I remember how stressed you were seeing it drop so I'm glad for you too. You have erased most of your paper losses by now - aren't you glad you kept the faith?

alex3388 you've been nothing but a chicken little running around crying the sky is falling! The sky is falling! Back up what you say lah

Cool, thx VG..err 3.06 you mean right?

Give her the AirAsia Special tonight lol

Whats the closing? Anyone know? I wanna close my spreadsheet and go home and celebrate with my gf.

@AmateurPlayer damn right! The panic those douchebags caused with their analyses.

But past is past. This time around will be much better.

Yes I'm still haunted by that period.

Sorry I read wrongly - AA gets USD 527.5 million cash from divesting a 52.7% stake according to Nomura. My head is in the clouds today.

So that means RM900M for a 52.7% stake in AAC. Thats win-win all around for AA no? They get RM900M, shareholders get a fat dividend, and AA still gets to retain a substantial share in a highly profitable business while practically halving its liabilities. Sounds good to me, Am I missing anything?

Hello RM3.00... nice to see you again. Its been far too long.

Lol Supermx2... it is a rare day indeed to hear you talk positively about AA. Did you buy back in?

"The AirAsia sale process comes at a time when Dublin-based aircraft lessor AWAS has been put up for sale by its private equity owners in an auction that could value it at $7 billion"

Our deal is a baby deal by comparison.

I remember reading somewhere that there were as many as 12 prospective bidders for the sale. Surely not all of them are from China. Airline leasing is super hot right now so I'm sure there are suitors aplenty from around the world. Wouldn't these guys be interested too?

"Western firms, including AerCap Holdings and GE Capital Aviation Services have dominated the global leasing sector that underpins aviation - some 40 percent of carriers' aircraft are leased to avoid the fixed costs of owning planes."

Read more: http://www.nasdaq.com/article/exclusiveskorean-group-in-advanced-talks-to-buy-stake-in-airasia-leasing-unitsources-20170323-01300#ixzz4cEUImZAZ

You're a glass half-empty kinda guy, eh supermx2?

Yeah should be 80% for 900M, I believe AA originally received an offer before the whole sale exercise for USD 1B for the entire stake so that is the minimum number to beat everyone will have in mind.

@ignissimia Yeah good point. I don't like the idea of TF and KM running around with that massive loan around their necks. I want them light and free and happy so they can get down to the business of turning AA into a true global champion. You know they got what it takes.

While I welcome that news I wonder how they can be identified as the top bidder when final bids are not due till this Monday? I'm sure the other bidders who are waiting till Monday to submit their bids might be a little annoyed if this were true.

Happy to buy some more if it drops below 2.80. Come on baby, come to daddy.

@ignissimia For those of us who have been with AA since last year we have already endured a spine chilling adventure from the dizzy heights of 3.20 to the heartbreaking drop to 2.17. I know you are talking about the possibility the AAC deal might not happen and I dread to think what will happen to the stock then. Even so, in that scenario all that means is AA continues to own a highly profitable business that contributes significantly to its bottom line, and what is so bad about that?

I just got a message from Maybank's equities division warning that the pump N dump racket is related to "surging tech related stocks on rumours / links to Alibaba". Don't think AA is a target. Anyway, no one can say the sale of AAC is an unsubstantiated rumour. Everyone knows about it, even the IBs that are bearish on AA.

supermx2 I for one am used to it by now. Short term turbulence is all.

@JN88 hahaha superb TP analysis.

Well done Air Asia, well done. :) http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2017/03/19/hearts-melt-as-airasia-adopts-3-stray-dogs-at-new-hq/

Expecting some action next week leading up to the bid deadline. Wouldn't mind adding some more myself but as a newbie I''m trying to be disciplined here.

Probably a mix of paying dividends and paring down debt. TF has to get that RM1 billion monkey off his back (for his private placement) somehow so he can get down to the business of running AA without being distracted. A fat dividend from the AAC sale is obviously the best way to do this. Not just mere coincidence the timing of the PP and the sale exercise of AAC.

Appreciate the analysis.Some of it is a bit too much for my layman's head but I get the gist of what you're saying. Thanks for taking time out of your Friday night to benefit the rest of us.

Final bids will be in March 27 right? There should be some action then even if bid price and winning bidder not revealed at that point.

Nobody wants to sell at this level if they can help it.

@mmk79 I'm pretty sure all the AAC bids are confidential and that the interested parties are keeping their bid figures close to their chest. Makes more sense to do it this way - keep the bidders guessing and they'll all be motivated to be as aggressive as possible in their bids to beat the competition.

@feisch ok thanks for clarifying.

Isn't hedging a prudent form of risk management in this era of volatile, unpredictable oil prices? Price of oil is also linked to geopolitical risks and it seems to me the chances of a large, widespread conflict increases every day. Therefore, it makes sense to hedge at these relatively low price levels, no?