Delta & NWA to join forces?
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/16564214/
Will Delta, Northwest join forces? Both airlines aim to emerge from bankruptcy this year Reuters Updated: 12:24 p.m. PT Jan 10, 2007 CHICAGO - Delta Air Lines Inc. and Northwest Airlines Corp. are in talks on a possible link-up, the Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday. The newspaper, which cited sources “familiar with the matter”, said representatives of the two carriers, which are No. 3 and No. 5 in the United States respectively, have met regularly for weeks discussing a possible link-up after they both emerge from bankruptcy. The two airlines have been restructuring in bankruptcy since September 2005 and aim to exit this year. A Northwest spokesman declined to comment. Delta officials were not immediately available for comment. The report came in the wake of news that US Airways Group , which made a hostile bid for Delta in November, has raised its offer to $10.3 billion. Delta management had rejected the original US Airways bid, but US Airways hopes to persuade the carrier’s creditors to have management reconsider. Delta has filed a plan to exit bankruptcy as a stand-alone company. Northwest has said it plans to file its own reorganization plan by Jan. 16. Copyright 2007 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of Reuters content is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Reuters. URL: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/16564214/ |
Northwest, Delta Discuss Tie-Up
By SUSAN CAREY, MELANIE TROTTMAN AND EVAN PEREZ January 10, 2007 2:17 p.m. Northwest Airlines has been having recurring talks with Delta Air Lines about a potential link-up between the two, possibly after they both emerge from bankruptcy-court protection later this year, said people familiar with the matter. Meetings between executives at various levels of management and between the airlines' advisers have been occurring regularly for weeks, including some in recent days. These sessions have helped Delta's creditors come to see a combination with Northwest as a realistic alternative to US Airways Group Inc.'s hostile takeover bid. US Airways today upped the ante by sweetening its hostile takeover bid for Delta to $10 billion. US Airways improved its mid-November $8.4 billion bid after Gordon Bethune, a former airline executive hired as an adviser by the Delta creditors, on Monday told US Airways its first offer wasn't good enough, said one person familiar with the matter. Delta, which has insisted that it wants to step out of Chapter 11 as an independent airline, was trying to persuade its creditors that its standalone post-bankruptcy business plan is superior to US Airways' first offer. The Delta creditors, who met today, are taking the improved offer seriously and intend to pressure Delta to consider opening its books to due diligence by US Airways and possibly other suitors, this person said. Meantime Northwest has emerged as a "promising third option" to Delta's standalone plan and US Airways' sweetened bid, said one person familiar with the matter. Another person with knowledge of the matter said there also have been contacts by UAL Corp.'s United Airlines with Delta. But this individual said it's not clear whether Delta has officially investigated an alternative deal with either Northwest or United. Another individual said the United-Delta conversations haven't been as frequent or recent as the ongoing Northwest- Delta contacts. United has been having exploratory talks about a combination with Continental Airlines Inc., its preferred dance partner, although many issues remain to be sorted out, according to another person familiar with that situation. Continental isn't certain it wants to combine with any rival, but is going along with negotiations out of concern that any Delta deal with lead to a flurry of mergers. Northwest, which also wants to step out of court protection as an independent company, is expected in the next few days to file its preliminary plan of reorganization with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in New York. It must file that document by Tuesday as that is the day its right to field such a plan without facing rival plans from creditors or other parties expires. Leading up to that, Northwest has been out in the marketplace trying to raise equity capital to help fund the company once it leaves Chapter 11. Northwest, which had been virtually mum about the merger speculation sweeping the industry, last month broke its silence by hiring investment-banking and restructuring advisers Evercore Partners Inc. to help it evaluate and possibly implement a merger, acquisition or other business combination. But as early as last May, the Northwest board of directors created a special committee to evaluate consolidation possibilities. Write to Susan Carey at [email protected] and Melanie Trottman at [email protected] |
Link-up?..is this new airline jargon for merger?
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Originally Posted by IXLR8
(Post 101316)
Link-up?..is this new airline jargon for merger?
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