John

Saga Ltd., the British provider of insurance and vacations to people over 50, agreed to merge with the Automobile Association Ltd. in a transaction that values the two closely held companies at 6.2 billion pounds ($12.4 billion).

Saga provide cruises through it's two companies Saga Cruises and Spirit of Adventure.

The deal will enable Saga to offer policies and cruises to the AA's older customers and the AA to sell roadside assistance to Saga's pool of 2.5 million clients, the companies said in a statement today. About 15 million U.K. motorists rely on the AA when their cars break down. Saga Chief Executive Officer Andrew Goodsell will head the company and AA CEO Tim Parker will quit.

``It's about selling our products to the AA's database of clients and the AA's to our database,'' Goodsell said in a telephone interview today. Saga will now scrap plans for an initial public offering, three years after it was taken over by leveraged buyout firm Charterhouse Capital Partners LLP.

The AA's owners, Permira Advisers LLP and CVC Capital Partners Ltd., have cut a third of the AA's workforce since buying the company three years ago. That prompted a labor union campaign against the buyout industry that led to last week's public interrogation of Permira Managing Partner Damon Buffini and three other top LBO executives by a panel of lawmakers.

The 102-year-old AA has been through ``quite a lot of pain over the last few years,'' Goodsell said. The two companies, which employ 11,000 people in the U.K., said they plan to share ``expertise and systems.'' Goodsell declined to rule out job cuts, saying the deal ``is about growth.'

__________________
John

Past cruises:
Apr 03 Norwegian Sun - W Caribbean
May 04 Norwegian Dream - Mediterranean
Nov 05 Radiance of the Seas - E Caribbean
Nov 05 Radiance of the Seas - W Caribbean
Oct 06 P&O Arcadia - Spirit of the Caribbean
May 07 Fred Olsen Braemar - Dutch Weekend
Oct 07 Norwegian Gem - Shakedown
Oct 07 Vision of the Seas - Mexican Riviera
Nov 07 Monarch of the Seas - Baja Cruise
July 08 Queen Elizabeth 2 -Holland & Belgium

Going through the Panama Canal on The Artemis Cruising in: And now for the next one

alphakitty

Here in the US, AA is something very different.

__________________
Mary

Life is like a roll of toilet paper. The closer it gets to the end, the faster it goes.

Cruising on Oasis of the Seas
1/23/2010

Carnival Destiny Cruising in: 78 day(s), 12 hour(s), 27 minute(s)

John

It is also the same here. AA is known for Automobile Association and Alcoholics Anonymous.

__________________
John

Past cruises:
Apr 03 Norwegian Sun - W Caribbean
May 04 Norwegian Dream - Mediterranean
Nov 05 Radiance of the Seas - E Caribbean
Nov 05 Radiance of the Seas - W Caribbean
Oct 06 P&O Arcadia - Spirit of the Caribbean
May 07 Fred Olsen Braemar - Dutch Weekend
Oct 07 Norwegian Gem - Shakedown
Oct 07 Vision of the Seas - Mexican Riviera
Nov 07 Monarch of the Seas - Baja Cruise
July 08 Queen Elizabeth 2 -Holland & Belgium

Going through the Panama Canal on The Artemis Cruising in: And now for the next one

alphakitty

You learn something new everyday.

__________________
Mary

Life is like a roll of toilet paper. The closer it gets to the end, the faster it goes.

Cruising on Oasis of the Seas
1/23/2010

Carnival Destiny Cruising in: 78 day(s), 12 hour(s), 27 minute(s)

Captain Larry

Our Automobile Association adds a preceding A for American, so it is Triple A, or AAA. In 1999 I took a land tour that was provided by Saga Holidays. It was marvelous, but they stopped offering land tours, at least in the US. That's why I have now become a regular with Grand Circle Travel, a company with offerings very similar to those Saga used to provide.