Maybe ASA didn't really buy Expressjet?
Maybe it really was Skywest?
Regional giant SkyWest to acquire ExpressJet
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By Ben Mutzabaugh, USA TODAY
Consolidation in the U.S. airline industry has trickled down to the nation's regional carriers. The USA's largest regional operator -- SkyWest -- today announced that it plans to acquire Houston-based ExpressJet, another U.S. regional carrier.
The Houston Business Journal writes that "as per the agreement, ExpressJet will be folded into SkyWest subsidiary Atlantic Southeast Airlines, based in Atlanta. It is expected that ExpressJet will move its corporate headquarters to Atlanta, but maintain an operational support structure in Houston."
The Associated Press writes that "Atlantic Southeast and SkyWest operate as Delta Connection and as United Express. ExpressJet operates as Continental Connection. The companies said Wednesday they expect the deal to close in the fourth quarter." Dow Jones adds the SkyWest-ExpressJet deal "lines up the commuter operations" of United and Continental, which hope to close their own merger deal by the end of the year.
AP notes "SkyWest has tried to buy ExpressJet before. The company made an offer of $3.50 per share in April 2008, but that price was rejected by ExpressJet's board as too low. ExpressJet, which was spun off from Continental in 2002, has been exploring options for its business ever since."
In a press release announcing the deal, ExpressJet says it expects "that the vast majority of front-line employee positions will not be impacted by the acquisition."
George Bravante, Chairman of the ExpressJet Board, adds in the release: "We believe this transaction provides a significant premium over ExpressJet's current market price for its stockholders and that the combined airline will be able to provide a stable, platform for growth for ExpressJet employees after this transaction closes."
In other news today involving SkyWest, The Associated Press writes that the company "said its second-quarter earnings fell 29% despite higher traffic because it made less money per passenger. The company earned $18.7 million, or 33 cents per share, compared with $26.2 million, or 46 cents per share, a year earlier." Analysts had expected a profit of 38 cents a share, according to AP.
SkyWest also operates a small number of flights from Milwaukee under a partnership with AirTran.
Posted Aug 4 2010 11:12AM