Atlas Air Worldwide (Atlas), announced that its shareholders voted to approve the company's pending acquisition by an investor group led by funds managed by affiliates of Apollo Global Management, Inc. (Apollo).
"We are pleased to receive overwhelming support from Atlas Air Worldwide shareholders, who recognize this transaction provides compelling value to them while giving us the opportunity to execute our strategic plan," said John Dietrich, president and chief executive officer of Atlas Air Worldwide.
"This is another step forward to completing the transaction as we advance our leadership in airfreight and deliver high-quality services to our customers around the world," the Atlas chief added.
Atlas Air made the initial announcement of the proposed acquisition in August 2022.
Atlas said then that it entered into a definitive agreement to be acquired by an investor group led by funds managed by affiliates of Apollo together with investment affiliates of J.F. Lehman & Company and Hill City Capital in an all-cash transaction with an enterprise valuation of approximately US$5.2 billion.
In its November 29 announcement, Atlas Air noted that as announced previously, the transaction was already earlier unanimously approved by the Atlas Board of Directors, which recommended that Atlas shareholders approve the transaction.
Approximately 99.3% of the votes cast were voted in favour of the adoption of the merger agreement, which represented approximately 80.9% of the outstanding shares of the Company's common stock.
Q1 2023 closing of transaction
Atlas Air said the final voting results will be set forth in a Form 8-K filed by Atlas with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
"The Company expects to complete the transaction in the first quarter of 2023, subject to customary closing conditions and receipt of regulatory approvals," the announcement said.
It added that upon closing of the transaction, Atlas Air Worldwide will become a privately held company and shares of Atlas Air Worldwide common stock will no longer be listed on the Nasdaq stock exchange.
