AirTran Holdings once again extends tender offer for Midwest Air

By Lisa Kerner

Charlotte, N.C., June 11 - AirTran Holdings, Inc. extended its $15.00-per-share tender offer for Midwest Air Group to midnight ET on Aug. 10 from June 8. The offer was originally slated to close on May 16.

As of June 8, shareholders agreed to tender more than 14.6 million shares, of 59.5%, of Midwest to Galena Acquisition Corp., AirTran's wholly owned subsidiary.

"Extending our tender offer until Aug. 10 provides time for the board election to be certified and enables the newly reconstituted board to undertake a comprehensive evaluation of the merits of the AirTran offer," chairman Joe Leonard said in a company news release.

"In the meantime, we would encourage Midwest shareholders to tender their shares to continue to send the clear message that they would like Midwest to meet with AirTran and sign a definitive merger agreement in order to create a truly national low-cost carrier for the benefit of all Midwest shareholders, employees and customers."

However, Midwest's board of directors believes there is greater value for shareholders in the company's long-term strategic plan than in the offer proposed by AirTran, a news release stated.

"It is all about value," Midwest chairman of the board Timothy E. Hoeksema said in the release.

"We believe the strategic initiatives, particularly those recently announced, will unlock value not reflected in the current share price or in the AirTran offer."

Midwest's board must approve the acquisition, the company noted. Adding that even if AirTran's three nominees are elected to Midwest's board, the company will still not have control.

On April 2, AirTran increased its buyout offer for Midwest to $9.00 in cash and 0.5842 of a share of AirTran stock - then worth $15.00 per Midwest share - from its original October 2006 offer of $11.25 per share.

Midwest is a Milwaukee-based provider of jet service to primarily business travelers.

AirTran is the parent company of AirTran Airways, a low-fare airline based in Orlando, Fla.

© 2015 Prospect News.
All content on this website is protected by copyright law in the U.S. and elsewhere. For the use of the person downloading only.
Redistribution and copying are prohibited by law without written permission in advance from Prospect News.
Redistribution or copying includes e-mailing, printing multiple copies or any other form of reproduction.