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US seeks to delay airline merger trial until March
Yet more merger snafus: The U.S. government wants to wait until March for a trial on its lawsuit aimed at blocking the merger of American Airlines and US Airways, a deal that would create the world's biggest airline. The airlines want to start the trial in November. They had hoped to close the merger next month, but that was before the U.S. Justice Department and six states filed the antitrust case two weeks ago. The Justice Department said in a court filing Tuesday that given the stakes… (finance.yahoo.com) More...
It's such a foregone conclusion, it makes no sense to put the brakes on it. What's it accomplish.
I didn't think the DOJ would stop the AT&T and T-mobile merger so late on the game. At the time, when the DOJ announced their intent to block that merger I thought it was a negotiating move to get the latest possible concessions from the combined entity.
Then again when te DOJ announced the suit against the AA-US merger, was first thoughts ran toward negotiating tactic fir maximal concessions.
However, the last time I checked AT&T and T-mobile never got hitched. Then to boot, AT&T had substantial failure to merge contractural payments to T-mobile in cash and spectrum.
So, it's still totally an open game. Though John makes some important points above. In addition, both AA and US keep moving as if the merger is a foregone conclusion that will still happen, even if slightly delayed.
My sense of free competition and fair dealings with government, the merger shoal go ahead, if only because 2 other identical mergers (Delta, United) were already allowed in the recent past by both this administration and the precious one, plus another substantial merger
Then again when te DOJ announced the suit against the AA-US merger, was first thoughts ran toward negotiating tactic fir maximal concessions.
However, the last time I checked AT&T and T-mobile never got hitched. Then to boot, AT&T had substantial failure to merge contractural payments to T-mobile in cash and spectrum.
So, it's still totally an open game. Though John makes some important points above. In addition, both AA and US keep moving as if the merger is a foregone conclusion that will still happen, even if slightly delayed.
My sense of free competition and fair dealings with government, the merger shoal go ahead, if only because 2 other identical mergers (Delta, United) were already allowed in the recent past by both this administration and the precious one, plus another substantial merger
My sense of free competition and fair dealings with government, the merger should go ahead, if only because 2 other identical mergers (Delta, United) were already allowed in the recent past by both this administration and the previous one, plus another recent substantial merger (Southwest) and another much earlier one (US Airways) that got all of these mergers going.
If if it true that the sum total of all of these mergers (over nearly a decade) are anticompetitive, then the resolution should be legislative. Some protections for smaller airline competitors can be created in law that would protect all small airlines from bullying by all large airlines.
But stopping this merger seems to me unfair governmental intervention in business after favorable treatment to competitors earlier.
If if it true that the sum total of all of these mergers (over nearly a decade) are anticompetitive, then the resolution should be legislative. Some protections for smaller airline competitors can be created in law that would protect all small airlines from bullying by all large airlines.
But stopping this merger seems to me unfair governmental intervention in business after favorable treatment to competitors earlier.
This is the Obama Administration trying to pick winners and losers. There will be a second agenda in play most likely to do with the political muscle of those who would profit from failure of the merger. The bond and debt holders are secure in this merger so it will not be coming from there.
You can't ever underestimate Doug Parker!
Ain't that the truth
She has smacked down the government on multiple occasions in the past few years. She is very senior and not looking for promotion. If the airlines tell her they are ready to go, she might just give the early trial date and a very short injunction.