Southwest Offers $170 Million in Cash to Buy Frontier

[brooklynite]

Source: Bloomberg

Aug. 10 (Bloomberg) -- Southwest Airlines Co. offered more than $170 million to buy Frontier Airlines Holdings Co., a 50 percent increase over its initial proposal, to hold off Republic Airways Holdings Inc. in a bankruptcy court auction.

The binding cash bid will be discussed “with the various interested parties” over the next week, Southwest said today in a statement. A bankruptcy court auction in New York will start on Aug. 13, the Dallas-based airline said.

Acquiring Denver-based Frontier would expand Southwest’s foothold in the Rocky Mountain region, enable it to operate flights outside the U.S. for the first time and eliminate a low- fare rival. Southwest, the world’s biggest discount carrier, made a $113.6 million preliminary offer on July 30.

...snip...

Frontier filed for bankruptcy in April 2008 and agreed on June 22 to be acquired by Indianapolis-based Republic for $108.8 million. That accord contained a provision that Frontier was free to accept a higher offer.

Read more: http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601103&sid=aCzRKOr3XgaY

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FWIW, ove-rexpansion by buying up other carriers was what did in PeoplExpress in the 1980's...

[MrsBrady]

1. Herb's not in charge any more...

so hopefully they don't screw it up.

[SemperEadem]

2. Oh no!

Frontier is a cool airline... it's too bad to see that they are in financial straits.

[enlightenment]

4. Again.

Same thing happened in - umm - 1986? 1987? Right around then.

I loved the old Frontier; the new one was okay, too.

[tomm2thumbs]

3. seems like a bargain, but must come with baggage (debt?)

at least Southwest doesn't try to market religion when you fly with them like Alaska Airlines, stuffing Biblical psalms into your ticketed on-board lunch even though YOU paid for the ticket to fly and the airlines are public transportation overseen by a Federal agency.

http://www.geocities.com/closetatheist/opinion20.htm



See article - I will never fly Alaska Airlines again after that same thing happened to me.