Rubicon Software Share Discussion Threads

[lucky_punter] 03/7/2012 12:02

Rubicon Diversified Investments (LON:RUBI) announced this morning it has chosen the Airbus A319 to be the backbone of its new Africa-focused low-cost carrier, FastJet.

[tomboyb] 03/7/2012 10:27

FastJet's aim is to eventually ferry 12 million passengers between cities in Africa using the low-cost blueprint patented in Europe – an undertaking that would require a 40 strong fleet, but which would create a US$1 billion turnover business.

Picking the Airbus passenger jet instead of the popular Boeing 737-700 series serves a major statement of intent.
Commenting today, Rubicon chief executive Ed Winter said: "The decision to launch FastJet with the Airbus A319 enables us to expand rapidly with each aircraft potentially carrying around 250,000 passengers a year.

Tommyboy: It does look like they are looking to move quick - not withstanding number crunching here i will probably say that if there was anyone that could potentially do this then it would again probably be Stelios - Its a risk u have to take

[tomboyb] 03/7/2012 10:14

proactive -



Rubicon Diversified says Airbus A319 will be backbone of the new FastJet fleet
7:11 am by Ian Lyall Flying High: A mock-up of how the new fleet might look.

Rubicon Diversified Investments (LON:RUBI) announced this morning it has chosen the Airbus A319 to be the backbone of its new Africa-focused low-cost carrier, FastJet.
Lonrho (LON:LONR) has teamed up with Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou to create the airline and will use Lonrho's Fly540 as the platform for the new business.
Fly540 has been flying in the region for around six years now, has 10 planes (seven turbo-props and three regional jets) and, significantly, holds licences to operate from hubs in Ghana, Kenya, Tanzania and Angola.

[someuwin] 03/7/2012 10:08

Picked up a few of these today. Great way to play the African growth story.

[tomboyb] 03/7/2012 10:00

Website has been updated and i will add to header -

[tomboyb] 03/7/2012 09:09

Well online limits certainly slashed completely - not even 25k online however the MM at 3.55 WHIS nms is 100k -

[tomboyb] 03/7/2012 08:31

Limits cut right down -

[tomboyb] 03/7/2012 08:15

Well - that seller has cleared - 75k max online now at full quote 3.5p -

[wisteria2] 03/7/2012 08:01

Could A319 the share price to a higher plane....lol

[tomboyb] 03/7/2012 07:58

No they certainly don't seem to be hanging around - Reminds me of a share i used to hold many years ago - gl.

[zztop] 03/7/2012 07:50

not hanging around then, very nice..

[tomboyb] 02/7/2012 16:07

150k available now at full quote 3.25p -

[tomboyb] 02/7/2012 15:51

One more director to come on board -

L2 strengthened 2 v1 with online limits halved to 150k -

[tomboyb] 02/7/2012 08:31

Monday 02 July, 2012
Rubicon Div. Inv.
CEO Appointment
RNS Number : 5819G
Rubicon Diversified Investments PLC
02 July 2012



Rubicon Diversified Investments Plc

("Rubicon" or the "Company" or "FastJet"; AIM: RUBI)

CEO Appointment

Rubicon Diversified Investments Plc announces the appointment of Ed Winter as Chief Executive Officer. Commenting on this appointment, David Lenigas, Executive Chairman, said:

"The Company is delighted to have Ed Winter take up the CEO's position and join the board of Rubicon. His extensive experience of operating successful airlines will assist greatly with optimising the Company existing operations in Africa and accelerate the roll-out of the new FastJet Low Cost Airline in Africa."

Edward William Bruce Winter (aged 65)
Ed has over 40 years of airline experience spanning from the traditional full service model of BOAC/British Airways through to one of the most successful low cost airlines, easyJet.

Ed started his aviation career as a pilot with BOAC. He held a number of senior management positions within British Airways including Chief Pilot and Head of Operations BA Regional, Chief Pilot London Gatwick and Chief Pilot Long haul Aircraft. He was a founder director and Chief Operating Officer of low cost airline Go, and grewthe airline profitably to 28 aircraft.

Following an MBO and the subsequent sale of Go to easyJet, Ed had the role of Integration Director whilst also acting as CEO of Go. Once the integration process at easyJet was complete, Ed served as Chief Operating Officer for four years steering the company through a period of rapid and profitable expansion, opening new bases across Europe and introducing the Airbus aircraft. More recently, Ed served as Chief Executive Officer of NAS (National Air Services) in Saudi Arabia.

His directorships in the last five years are as follows:
Name Further Detail
Woodstock Consulting Limited Current

Ed has no interest in the share capital of the Company.
There are no other disclosures required in accordance with Schedule 2(g) of the AIM Rules for Companies.

For further information please contact:
Rubicon Diversified Investments Plc Tel: [phone]
Ed Winter
David Lenigas
Richard Blakesley

[tomboyb] 02/7/2012 08:30

IDMRUBI

RNS Number : 6091G

Rubicon Diversified Investments PLC

02 July 2012

Rubicon Diversified Investments Plc

("Rubicon", the "Company" or "FastJet"; AIM: RUBI)

Completion of Acquisitions

Following the re-admission of the Company's ordinary shares to trading on AIM, the Acquisitions of the Lonrho Aviation Group and a further interest in Five Forty Aviation Ltd. have completed. Details of the Acquisitions are set out in the Company's admission document dated 13 June 2012. Commenting on the completion of the Acquisitions Mr. David Lenigas, Executive Chairman, said: "From the outset, the Company will be flying approximately 750,000 passengers a year in Africa with bases in Ghana, Kenya, Tanzania and Angola. Rubicon plans to rapidly expand its existing network of routes flown and launch the new FastJet Low Cost Airline using large modern jet aircraft under a brand licence agreement with easyGroup and Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou, founder of leading low cost airline Easyjet.

Defined terms in this announcement have the meanings defined in the admission document dated 13 June, which is available from the Company's website: www.rubicondiv.co.uk

For further information please contact:

Rubicon Diversified Investments Plc Tel: [phone]
Ed Winter

David Lenigas

Richard Blakesley

Citigate Dewe Rogerson Tel: [phone]
Angharad Couch

Sally Marshak

Eleni Menikou

W.H. Ireland Ltd. Tel: [phone]
James Joyce

Nick Field

This information is provided by RNS

The company news service from the London Stock Exchange

END

[tomboyb] 29/6/2012 16:26

thanks looky -

[looky] 29/6/2012 15:55

I am told we can expect a substantial note from Liberum (well respected in this sector) with a price target in excess of 20p - to be published next week.

[tomboyb] 29/6/2012 15:01

All resolutions passed - The institutions were the heavy hitters with share capital of RUBI - So here comes FASTJET.COM.

[yashdi] 29/6/2012 14:02

I wonder what time will they announce the result of the AGM the meeting starts at 2pm today

[lucky_punter] 29/6/2012 13:17

It is an intriguing combination: entrepreneur Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou and Lonrho, one of the preeminent names in African trade.
If you've been reading the business pages you will know the two have come together to form FastJet, Africa's leading low-cost airline.

[tomboyb] 28/6/2012 21:16

Interesting Proactive article - Personally would have a little difficulty in predicting numbers here but am awaiting tomorrow AGM - good luck chaps.

The entire article if u don't like links -



FastJet targeting the last great frontier for air travel
3:41 pm Flying high: a computer generated image of how the new FastJet fleet will look.
It is an intriguing combination: entrepreneur Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou and Lonrho, one of the preeminent names in African trade.
If you've been reading the business pages you will know the two have come together to form FastJet, Africa's leading low-cost airline.
With a population of one billion people and economic transformation underway, the continent represents the last great frontier for air travel.
Lonrho is the owner of Fly540, which will act as the platform for the launch of FastJet.
It has been flying in the region for around six years now, has 10 planes (seven turbo-props and three regional jets) and, significantly, has licences to operate from hubs in Ghana, Kenya, Tanzania and Angola.
Fly540 is being injected into AIM-listed cash shell Rubicon Diversified Investments (LON:RUBI) in an all-share deal worth US$86 million.
Lonrho will hold have 73.7 per cent of the business, which will be renamed FastJet, with Stelios's easyGroup receiving a 5 per cent stake and an option to acquire a further 10 per cent at a 30 per cent premium to the price of the last fund-raising.
The easyJet founder will be on the board, although day-to-day control of the group will fall to chief executive designate Ed Winter, another pioneer of no-frills travel - first with BA's low-cost airline GO and then easyJet. And he is relishing the challenge.
"Air travel in Africa in general has been reserved for business people or a thin strata of society, high-wealth individuals," Winter told Proactive Investors.
"It is not for the ordinary man in the street. The ordinary man in the street either doesn't travel or if he does he travels long, dangerous journeys by bus or car.
"This inhibits him from travelling. It means that he can't visit relatives or go where his skills are needed. We aim to democratise air travel."
Democratising air travel means offering tickets for as little as US$20 before taxes one-way. While low by European standards, it might easily be a week's wages in Ghana.
That said fares compare favourably with the alternative – bus – where journeys are arduous and dangerous. FastJet is pledging to work to European standards of safety security and customer service. "Neither Stelios nor I would be involved in an airline that didn't", said the FasJet CEO.
If Winter and his team get the offering correct then the prize is potentially huge.
There are 100 million people combined in the four countries where the new FastJet has bases, and 335 million in the 15-member Economic Community of West African States.
It only has to tap into a small proportion of the population to have a viable business.
In fact if say just three per cent of that 100 million use the service twice a year this translates into a business carrying 12 million passengers a year.
The aim is just that - to get passenger numbers up to 12 million a year. It is a fairly ambitious target which would equate to a 40 plane operation turning over around US$1 billion a year. Fly540 currently carries around 750,000 passengers per year.
However you only have to look at the low-cost travel revolution here at home in the late 1990s and earlier noughties that spawned EasyJet, Ryanair and GO to realise it is an achievable objective.
Winter hopes FastJet will take delivery of its first leased aircraft by October and could amass a fleet of 15 in the next 12 months. However a lot will depend on just how fast routes take off.
The maintenance will be outsourced to a big, European firm experienced in dealing with demands of the budget airlines and used to delivering a quality service.
There has been a little grumbling in the City about easyGroup's brand licence agreement with the FastJet, with Stelios's company receiving 0.5 per cent of the revenues generated by the airline for 10 years on top of a monthly consulting fee.
However, a simple back-of-the-envelope calculation suggests the relationship more than pays for itself if (as is likely) it results in lower leasing, employee and supplier costs.
Still, it is unlikely to be a turbulence-free journey as FastJet develops, a fact Winter acknowledges.
The initial challenge for the team managing it is to get African passengers accustomed to the novelty of frequent, reliable air travel.
It is one of the idiosyncrasies of the continent that a plane may turn up at the allotted time and destination – though there are many examples where it does not.
This may explain why passengers arrive on the day and pay rather than committing themselves financially to a journey that may never occur.
"Air travel has such a bad reputation [in Africa]. It is not reliable. So passengers tend to turn up at the airport cash in hand and if the plane arrives they pay," Winter said.
"This is the culture that exists. It will take a few months to change the culture, give people the confidence that we are here for the long-term so you can pay for the ticket in advance and we will turn up and fly you."
The internet here in the UK plays a huge role in the way tickets are marketed.
Its impact is likely to be far less significant in Ghana, Angola, Kenya and Tanzania, where mobile phones rather than worldwide web are the dominant communication channel.
Mobiles will be an important route to market, both as a marketing channel and a means of payment, as initially will travel agents and call centres, Winter said. Fly540 already receives mobile payments for flights in Ghana and Kenya.
But creating a market for this low cost offering is just part of the problem. The other potential pocket of lumpy air is the fiscal regime operated in FastJet's four hub countries.
In Ghana, for instance, the departure tax is something of the order of US$60 for regional flights..
Levies like this blow the low cost model out of the sky.
However, FastJet is in discussions about reducing these fees and has put a compelling economic case for budget air travel.
Independently verified calculations suggest the arrival of budget travel could lead to an increase in the tax take (including fuel duties).
The challenge is persuading the authorities that low cost airlines will act as a magnet for international carriers and their wide-bodied jets that are taxed at even higher rates.
To get it fully airborne, FastJet requires further funding, which will almost certainly be supplied by new equity investors.
Analysts estimate the group will require US$15-30 million. Exactly how much it raises will in part depend on Lonrho and just how far it wants to dilute its stake in the carrier.
The institutional welcome has been reasonably warm as Winter and his team have spelled out in broad brush their aims and ambitions for the group.
Whether this translates into firm interest when the cash call gets underway remains to be seen.
"It's difficult out there," said Winter, referring to the turmoil on the world markets and how it has affected institutional demand.
If FastJet does achieve its ambitions, then the investment should prove a very shrewd one.
That targeted US$1 billion a year of revenues might reasonably generate an EBITDA margin of 10 per cent, based on the performance of other operators.
Applying a conservative multiple of eight times that EBITDA you might then have a business worth US$800 million in as little as 36 months carrying very little debt.
"This is a significant value growth story," Winter said. "We have the opportunity to build a business at many multiples of what it is valued at today."

[ndege kidogo] 28/6/2012 16:46

The proactive investors article is blue sky tosh. How can you raise US$ 15/30m, lease 40 Airbus 320 type jets and end up carrying very little debt? The US$800m valuation is beyond ludicrous. Also I question where all these passengers are coming from for travel between hubs. African countries are still divided internally on tribal lines; for example how many Kikuyus in Kenya will have friends or family to visit in Accra or business to do? The very few who do will be in the diplomatic service or other international institutions where cheap travel is not exactly a discipline. The first thing most Africans do when they make some money is to buy a Mercedes and the second is to visit their money in Lugano not Lagos. I reckon the passenger numbers will take ages to materialise, way beyond 3 years. Best watched for the time being from the plane spotters gallery.

[aim_trader] 28/6/2012 15:33

2:59 pm
FastJet targeting the last great frontier for air travel
It is an intriguing combination: entrepreneur Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou and Lonrho, one of the preeminent names in African trade. If you've been reading the business pages you will know the two have come together to form FastJet, Africa's leading low-cost airline.

If FastJet does achieve its ambitions, then the investment should prove a very shrewd one.
That targeted US$1 billion a year of revenues might reasonably generate an EBITDA margin of 10 per cent, based on the performance of other operators.
Applying a conservative multiple of eight times that EBITDA you might then have a business worth US$800 million in as little as 36 months carrying very little debt.