What's the future for Atlas Air as Apollo consortium takeover looms?

The acquisition of Atlas Air by an Apollo-led consortium appears to be progressing fast, with Bloomberg reporting that a deal could be announced this week.

The buyout is expected to be priced at $102.50 a share, only marginally higher than the $100-a-share base-case forecast by Loadstar Premium yesterday. This stamps on Atlas equity a price tag of some $3.2bn, on a fully diluted basis.

It could be delisted before the end of the year – with private equity ownership typically focused on ...