The acquisition of Zimex Aviation Holding by Lions Air Limited, announced at the end of July, has fallen through. According to sources at Zimex, the deal was cancelled because "it did not prove possible to reach agreement on future strategies". Hannes Ziegler, the president of Zimex, was approached by Lions at the start of the year. Sources indicated in July that Ziegler would only sell Zimex to a buyer who would guarantee the future identity and development of the Zurich-based firm. At that time, Ziegler believed Lions would provide such a deal, and government approvals had been obtained for the takeover.\r"The basic strategic difference was on the issue of keeping the group together, or splitting it up into its various activities," said Zimex ceo, Dr Reto Joos. "It was publicly known that Mr Ziegler would like to sell his company as a whole and not in part. These differences led to the agreement not being followed through." A Swiss investor group, Golden Sign Aviation, acquired Zimex in Lions' stead, on October 8. The group is headed by Dieter Weber, currently country manager Switzerland at BP Aviation. \rWeber, 42, has 18 years experience in various management positions at BP, in Switzerland and abroad. He is also a trained pilot. He expressed interest in buying Zimex while the deal with Lions was being worked out, but was unable to make contact with Ziegler because of the exclusive nature of the Lions negotiations.\rWeber will be taking charge of operative management at Zimex when he is free from his commitments at BP. Joos said that he will continue to act as ceo of Zimex until this time, as he has done for the last two years. Then he will consider his options, and make a decision "oriented toward the needs of the company". \rZimex and Golden Sign will dedicate the next two months to consolidating internal affairs, formulating next year's budget, and teaching the new owners the intricacies of business aviation operations, Joos said. He also affirmed plans for "aggressive expansion, based on the strength of Zimex, which will be true for both the maintenance side and air transport". \rZiegler will stay on as a consultant at Golden Sign and will remain on the board of directors. He said that he will also be dedicating himself intensively to activities as a board member of NetJets Europe, with a main focus on sales. "I am proud and happy to hand over my "brain child" today to a young and dynamic team," Ziegler affirmed. "Sincere thanks to all my business friends around the world for the trust and confidence you extended to me all this time. I thoroughly enjoyed every moment".