B. O.A. C. – Cunard To Separate

Press, Volume CVI, Issue 31167, 17 September 1966, Page 15

B. O.A. C. - Cunard To Separate

(N.ZPA. Reuter—Copyright) LONDON, September 16. The four-year-old “marriage” of the British Overseas Airways Corporation and Cunard will end in October, it was announced today.

The chairman of Cunard, Sir Basil Smallpeice, in a message to Cunard staff today, said the deal would provide capital for the development of the group’s shipbuilding business.

8.0.A.C.-Cunard airline for £11,500,000. Cunard formed the airway! jointly with the British Over- : seas Airways Corporation in June, 1962, providing £8,400,000 of the £3O million capital. The full take-over by 8.0.A.C. will mean that the name Cunard will disappear from the air. It will be taken off planes, the sales offices and timetables. At formation, the joint company had 10 Boeing 7075, eight of which came from 8.0.A.C. and two from Cunard’s subsidiary company, Cunard Eagle, which at that time was flying between London and Bermuda, Nassau and Miami. The 8.0.A.C. took over these services. Today 8.0.A.C.-Cunard has 11 Boeing 707 airliners, two Boeing 336 C freighters and four Super VClOs.

“It is inevitable we will have to invest large sums of money in these projects,” he said. The deputy chairman of 8.0.A.C., Mr Charles Hardie, said: “This is perhaps one of those rare occasions when both sides can be said to be most happy with their bargain.” He said 8.0.A.C. was paying only the book value for the Cunard shares and “Cunard, being minority shareholders, are only giving up the dividend on their shares.” 8.0.A.C. will buy the Cunard Steamship Company's 30 'per cent holding in the