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In another lap tray to the belly, customers of Milwaukee-based Midwest Air Group (NYSE: MEH), repeatedly named as one of the nation's best airlines for customer service and comfort, learned today that the airline will be purchased by a group led by TPG Capital. The investor group includes Midwest's competitor Northwest Airlines (NYSE: NWA), which is reviled by passengers for its cattle-car seating, lack of timeliness and failure to understand the concept of customer service

The acquisition offers little in the way of synergy to the two airlines. They duplicate many routes, and Midwest flies the Boing 717, while Northwest uses 747s and 757s. What the deal does accomplish is to block the expansion of a potential competitor in Northwest's upper midwest routes. While the deal secures the present management of Midwest, I suspect it's just a matter of time before the malaise reaches Milwaukee.

Midwest has been fighting off suitor Airtran Holdings' (NYSE: AAI) hostile takeover attempt, which reached $15.75 and $389 million before it folded its cards late last week. TPG, which grew out of the Continental Airlines (NYSE: CAL) takeover in 1993, is offering $16 per share, or over $400 million, to take the company private. The Midwest board voted Sunday to go forward with the TPG offer, and an agreement is expected by midweek.

Northwest (NWA) would rather buy competition than improve originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 13 Aug 2007 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>aaiairline competitionairline industryAirlineCompetitionairtran holdingsAirtranHoldingscalcontinentalmehmidwest air groupMidwestAirGroupnorthwest airlinesNorthwestAirlinesnwatakeovertpg capitalTpgCapitalMon, 13 Aug 2007 13:00:00 EST<![CDATA[AirTran's deal gets more lift]]>http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2007/01/11/airtrans-deal-gets-more-lift/http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2007/01/11/airtrans-deal-gets-more-lift/http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2007/01/11/airtrans-deal-gets-more-lift/#commentsFiled under:

As I indicated in a recent piece in Bloggingstocks.com, I thought there was a good chance that the bid for Midwest Air Group Inc. (AMEX:MEH) would get a bump. This is fairly typical for hostile deals.

Well, that's what happened today when AirTran Holding Inc. (NYSE: AAI) said it will increase its offer by 19% to $345 million. This is according to a letter from the Chairman and CEO of AirTran, Joe Leonard.

While Midwest has been resistant, it will be hard to keep this up. After all, the current offer is very enticing for shareholders. And AirTran has now made its offer directly to shareholders.

Besides, as the airline industry consolidates, a small player like Midwest can easily get shut out. In other words, it's probably inevitable that the company will cave-in to AirTran.

Tom Taulli is the author of various books, including the Complete M&A Handbook and the EDGAR-Online Guide to Decoding Financial Statements.

AirTran's deal gets more lift originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 11 Jan 2007 13:33:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>AirTranAMEX:MEHJoe LeonardJoeLeonardMidwest Air GroupNYSE: AAINyse:AaiThu, 11 Jan 2007 13:33:00 EST