Precision Air Services Ltd – jostling for position in Tanzanian airspace

Abstract

Subject area Finance, entrepreneurship, general management. Study level/applicability MBA/Postgraduate. Case overview This case is about Precision Air Services, a small profitable airline in Tanzania, which is in the middle of a changing airline industry. In less than ten years, Mr Michael Ngaleku Shirima, the founder and then holding two-thirds of the shares together with an option to buy the remaining one-third, had seen the airline grow to a major player in the domestic market. His plans to expand to regional routes were still on the drawing board when he received a US$2 million cash offer from Kenya Airways, a much larger airline, for a 49 percent equity stake. At the same time, South African Airways – another heavyweight in the African airline industry, was in the process of acquiring a controlling stake in the state-owned Air Tanzania Corporation. To Mr Shirima, giving up a significant stake in an airline he created from scratch was a dilemma. But if that was to be, he was also interested to see that he is getting the right price for his efforts. Expected learning outcomes This case can be used to teach elements of merger and acquisition, business valuation, negotiation, strategy (corporate, international, growth), strategic scoping and planning. Supplementary materials Teaching notes.