Probably a good idea to start a thread dedicated to this topic.
Continental chief opens door to merger
Will do what’s best, Kellner tells workers
Associated Press
Published November 22, 2006
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HOUSTON — The chief executive of Continental Airlines Inc. says the company would consider a merger to remain competitive if the industry continues to consolidate.
In a message to employees Friday, two days after US Airways made a hostile bid for ailing rival Delta Air Lines, Continental CEO Larry Kellner told employees the airline wants to remain independent and continue to grow.
“However, if the landscape of the U.S. airline industry does indeed change, we’ll do what we need to do to act in the best interests of you, our customers, our shareholders and the communities we serve,” Kellner said in the message released by the airline, the nation’s fourth-largest carrier.
Speculation that United Airlines parent UAL Corp. might make a play for Continental or Delta as a merger partner has intensified since US Airways’ unsolicited bid on Nov. 15. Analysts said the US Airways offer could touch off a long-expected round of consolidation among U.S. carriers.
Kellner said in a speech in Mexico City last month that his company had no plans to merge with another carrier despite rampant speculation.
The latest remarks, however, appeared to open the door to such a pairing, though he noted Friday, “There is no certainty that the proposed US Airways/Delta merger will ever occur. There are all sorts of hurdles, and we’ve seen offers before that did not end up happening.”
United, which has been an outspoken advocate of the need for industry consolidation, has hired Goldman Sachs as its investment banker in recent months to pursue strategic options.
Continental has long been considered a good potential partner for the Elk Grove Township-based airline because of their complementary route networks.
Asked about a possible bid for Delta or Continental, United spokeswoman Jean Medina said Tuesday that the company does not comment on rumors or speculation.
By: US Agent - 1st February 2007 at 22:03
Confirmed…
US Airways withdraws offer after creditors reject takeover
Associated Press
Published February 1, 2007
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Delta Air Lines Inc.’s unsecured creditors committee threw its support behind the airline’s stand-alone reorganization plan on Wednesday, a decision that prompted US Airways to drop its hostile $9.8 billion bid to buy Delta.
By: hawkdriver05 - 31st January 2007 at 23:42
Looks like USAirways has dropped its bid for Delta.
By: US Agent - 31st January 2007 at 16:04
NORTHWEST AIRLINES: Carrier not planning on merger this year
Associated Press
Published January 31, 2007
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MINNEAPOLIS — Northwest Airlines Corp. plans to emerge from bankruptcy as an independent carrier and stay that way through 2007, Chief Executive Doug Steenland said Tuesday.
Northwest and other airlines have been the subject of intense merger speculation. Northwest has hired a merger consulting firm, but said that was so it could be prepared to respond to merger offers.
But Northwest has no plans to merge either before it exits bankruptcy, which it expects to do by June 30, Steenland said.
He declined to comment on reports that Northwest has held talks with Delta or that it is currently in merger talks.
Northwest is scheduled to file details of its reorganization plan by Feb. 15.
“That business plan and that valuation will be predicated on Northwest being a standalone, independent airline,” he said.
Steenland also said Northwest plans to keep its headquarters in the Twin Cities.
By: US Agent - 31st January 2007 at 16:03
Airline: Pursuit of Delta limited
Ch. 11 exit would end chase by US Airways
Associated Press
Published January 31, 2007
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TEMPE, Ariz. — US Airways Group Inc. Chief Executive Doug Parker said Tuesday that he would not pursue a hostile bid for Delta Air Lines Inc. if it emerges from bankruptcy.
“We’ve got a company to run,” Parker said. “We’re not going to keep chasing this thing, even though we’ve got a bunch of people telling us we should.”
Parker said he would hold Delta’s creditors to a Thursday deadline to begin moving forward on its $9.9 billion bid for the Atlanta-based carrier.
To keep the offer alive, Parker said Delta’s creditors have until midnight Thursday to request a delay in a Feb. 7 bankruptcy hearing on Delta management’s bankruptcy plan.
The creditors also must call on both companies to begin the federal regulatory process and a due diligence process that would open Delta’s books for US Airways.
If this doesn’t happen, and Delta emerges from Chapter 11 as a standalone company, Parker said he would no longer pursue the airline. He said it would be more difficult to make money if US Airways were to combine with a standalone Delta.
Ray Neidl, an airline analyst with Calyon Securities in New York, said no matter what happens by Thursday, US Airways probably will continue to look to combine with other carriers.
“I wouldn’t be surprised if they didn’t do this deal, they wouldn’t be out hunting again pretty soon,” Neidl said.
When US Airways first bid for Delta in November, analysts speculated whether the deal would set off a wave of mergers and acquisitions in the industry. But Parker said Tuesday that he didn’t believe there was much chance for more consolidation.
By: US Agent - 26th January 2007 at 16:11
US Airways unsure on higher Delta bid
Associated Press
Published January 24, 2007
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ATLANTA — US Airways Group Inc. Chief Executive Doug Parker was non-committal Tuesday on whether his company would be willing to further increase its bid to buy Delta Air Lines Inc. to appease Delta’s creditors.
“It’s not a yes,” Parker said when asked if the Tempe, Ariz.-based airline would again boost its offer, valued at $9.8 billion.
But, he quickly added, “We’re always willing to talk to people.”
Parker said Delta’s official committee of unsecured creditors, which will play a key role in deciding whether any merger would move forward, has not indicated that it wants US Airways to offer more money.
Parker said he is in the dark about what the creditors committee is thinking. The committee has not issued a statement about its position since US Airways increased its offer for Delta nearly 20 percent on Jan. 10.
“There’s been no negotiating whatsoever,” Parker said. “No one has come back to us and said we should increase our offer.”
A Feb. 7 bankruptcy court hearing in New York has been scheduled to discuss the disclosure statement to Delta’s reorganization plan, which calls for the Atlanta-based airline to emerge from Chapter 11 by the middle of this year as a stand-alone carrier. If the statement, which includes details of Delta’s operations, is approved, the carrier could begin soliciting votes for approval of its reorganization plan.
US Airways is asking Delta’s official creditors committee to support postponing that hearing. It has said that if that condition is not met by Feb. 1, along with several other conditions, it will revoke its bid for Delta.
Parker said Tuesday that US Airways made the point to the creditors committee as recently as last week that time is running out for action by the committee.
“We made it crystal clear, if there is no action by Feb. 1, then our offer is withdrawn,” Parker said. “They fully understand that now. We’re dead serious about the deadline.”
Delta’s board, meanwhile, could vote on US Airways’ most recent offer this week.
While Delta has opposed a merger with US Airways, and Delta’s chief executive, Gerald Grinstein, has said in the past he doesn’t believe airline consolidation is the wave of the future, he said in a newsletter sent to employees Tuesday that a merger can’t be ruled out for Delta after it exits bankruptcy.
Grinstein said Delta’s board will make decisions about the airline’s future after it exits bankruptcy as a stand-alone company
By: US Agent - 20th January 2007 at 18:12
…[related]…
Airlines flying high as profit set to take off
Falling fuel costs and a surge in travel demand expected to result in strong earnings for 2007
By Julie Johnsson
Tribune staff reporter
Published January 20, 2007
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After years of heavy losses, U.S. airlines are poised for a big rebound, driven by strong interest in travel and falling oil prices.
In a sign that carriers finally have emerged from the turbulence that followed the 9/11 attacks, American Airlines and Continental Airlines have reported an annual profit for the first time in years.
And United Airlines, which flirted with liquidation during its three-year bankruptcy, is expected to show a profit for the first year since 2000 when it reports 2006 earnings on Tuesday.
In all, the 10 largest U.S. carriers combined should post a 2006 gain of between $1.4 billion and $1.7 billion, predicts AirlineForecasts, a Washington, D.C.-based consulting firm.
This year’s results stand to be even better. Fuel, the second-largest operational expense for most airlines, after labor, is becoming more affordable as oil prices drop. Plus, carriers like United are starting to reap the results of expense cuts made to survive the downturn.
Those top airlines stand to make a total of $5.9 billion in 2007 if crude oil averages $55 per barrel, according to AirlineForecasts. They should make a cumulative $6.9 billion in 2008 if fuel prices stay at current levels. On Friday, crude oil closed at $51.99 per barrel.
“The moderation of oil prices is starting to reveal the progress that’s been made in [cutting] non-energy costs of the business,” said Robert Mann, president of R.W. Mann & Co., an airline consulting firm based in Port Washington, N.Y.
Airlines’ bottom lines could improve further if one or more of the mergers contemplated by some of the industry’s biggest players are consummated, observers say.
By: US Agent - 29th December 2006 at 16:56
US Airways chief hanging tight on its offer for Delta
Associated Press
Published December 29, 2006
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ATLANTA — US Airways has no intention right now of increasing its $8.4 billion offer for Delta Air Lines, and it can’t see itself backing out of its pursuit for any reason, Chief Executive Doug Parker said Thursday.
By: US Agent - 20th December 2006 at 15:14
Delta turns down offer by US Airways
From Tribune news services
Published December 20, 2006
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ATLANTA — Delta Air Lines Inc. on Tuesday rejected a hostile $8.38 billion merger proposal from US Airways Group Inc. and said it plans to exit bankruptcy on its own in the first six months of 2007 with a value of as much as $12 billion.
The US Airways offer is unlikely to receive antitrust approval, is based on flawed economic assumptions and would result in the biggest debt in the industry, said Delta, the nation’s third-largest carrier. US Airways said it will continue to pursue a takeover.
Delta wasn’t convinced by US Airways’ argument that a combination creating the world’s largest airline would bring $1.65 billion in annual savings and new revenue. Executives at Delta have expressed skepticism about US Airways’ offer since it was announced Nov. 15.
In a conference call with analysts Tuesday, Delta Chief Executive Gerald Grinstein said: “US Airways is the worst of all potential merger partners. Their proposal is a bad deal for Delta and its creditors.”
US Airways CEO Doug Parker said his company’s offer of $4 billion in cash and 78.5 million US Airways shares, coupled with cost savings and new revenue, “is significantly greater” than the value of Delta’s plan to its creditors and future shareholders.
“We remain a disciplined and determined bidder for Delta,” Parker said.
Delta’s board unanimously rejected the US Airways offer. The carrier faces pressure to consolidate as other carriers consider mergers. AirTran Holdings Inc. made a hostile $290 million bid for Midwest Air Group Inc. on Dec. 13, and UAL Corp.’s United Airlines has held talks with Continental Airlines Inc.
“It will be extremely difficult for this merger to go forward,” James Corridore, an analyst for Standard & Poor’s, said in a note. US Airways’ “options are to raise its bid, try and sway creditors or retract its bid.”
By: US Agent - 9th December 2006 at 22:45
Help sought to ease way toward merger
McClatchy-Tribune News Service
Published December 9, 2006
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DETROIT — Northwest Airlines wants to hire a consultant that specializes in mergers.
The move adds to speculation that the carrier could merge with another airline before it emerges from bankruptcy protection. Last month, US Airways said it wants to merge with Delta Air Lines.
It’s too early to say what a merger would mean for travelers. One potential partner could be Continental Airlines. Continental’s routes across the Atlantic and Latin America would complement Northwest’s routes to Asia, said airline consultant Robert Mann. But he said Northwest’s rocky labor relations could be an obstacle.
Evercore Group would help Northwest study “broad strategic alternatives in the airline industry,” the airline said in a court filing. The company helped broker General Motors Corp.’s sale of its majority stake in its lending arm GMAC and has advised UAL Corp., parent of United Airlines.
By: steve rowell - 22nd November 2006 at 22:11
Australian icon Qantas could be sold after takeover talks involving a consortium led by Australia’s largest investment bank, the Macquarie Bank, and a foreign business marauder.
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November 22, 2006 at 4:56 pm