United's Chief Executive Officer Glenn Tilton hired Goldman Sachs Group Inc. this year for advice on possible merging transactions.
This discussion touched another US carrier Delta Air Lines offering $8.67 for buying the company. But Delta, the third biggest carrier, rejected the offer, sayin that it will come out of bankruptcy in next year being independent.
The union of United and Continental will be the merger of the second and fourth biggest carriers of US by the passenger traffic and it will outshine AMR Corp.'s American Airlines the first biggest US carrier. United's airports in Chicago, San Francisco and Washington would mesh with Continental's airports in Houston, Cleveland and Newark, New Jersey. Continental's airports' in Latin America and United's Asia-Pacific routes' will strengthen the new merged airlines.
The Wall Street Journal reported that AirTran Holdings Inc., a carrier based in Orlando, Florida, also is preparing a proposal for Midwest Air Group Inc.
Here New York Stock Exchange provides the shares of the airlines:
- United dropped $1.30 to $43.23
- Continental shares fell $2.54 to $42.88
- AirTran lost 40 cents to $12.35
- Midwest declined 43 cents to $9.08
The only problem which can possibly prevent the United - Continental merger, is Midwest' 2001's gain, when it two carriers to sell seats in each other's plane. This gave Midwest priority and power to prevent two or more airlines' merger.
By Ruzan Harutyunyan for HULIQ
Posted December 13th, 2006 by ruzik_tuzik
