Midwest Says U.S. DoJ closes investigation

[Eagle757shark]

[SIZE=-2]Midwest Air Group says U.S. DoJ closes investigation

Wed Jan 30, 2008 6:35pm EST
Jan 30 (Reuters) - Midwest Air Group Inc (MEH.A: Quote, Profile, Research), the parent company of Midwest Airlines, said the U.S. Department of Justice has closed its investigation of the pending acquisition of the company by Midwest Air Partners LLC, an affiliate of TPG Capital.
The acquisition is expected to close Jan. 31, the company said adding that trading of Midwest Air Group stock on the American Stock Exchange is expected to end on the same day. (Reporting by Ratul Ray Chaudhuri in Bangalore; Editing by Jarshad Kakkrakandy)
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[Eagle757shark]

U.S. Department of Justice Closes Investigation of Pending Acquisition of Midwest Air Group; Transaction Expected to Close January 31
Wednesday January 30, 6:18 pm ET
MILWAUKEE, Jan. 30 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Midwest Air Group, Inc. (Amex: MEH - News), parent company of Midwest Airlines, today said that the parties have been informed by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) that the DOJ has closed its investigation of the pending acquisition of Midwest Air Group by Midwest Air Partners, LLC, an affiliate of TPG Capital. As a result, the parties are able to close the acquisition in compliance with the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976. The acquisition is expected to close January 31, 2008.
As previously announced, the transaction was approved at a special meeting of Midwest shareholders on October 30, 2007. Completion of the acquisition is subject to the satisfaction of customary closing conditions.
Trading of Midwest Air Group stock on the American Stock Exchange is expected to conclude as of the close of trading on January 31, 2008. Shareholders of record as of that date will be notified of the process to surrender their shares in exchange for the per-share merger consideration of $17.00 in cash, without interest, following the closing. Shareholders whose shares are held by a broker or other nominee in "street name" should contact their broker or other nominee for information about receiving the cash consideration for their shares.
Midwest Airlines features jet service throughout the United States, including Milwaukee's most daily nonstop flights and best schedule to major destinations. Catering to business travelers and discerning leisure travelers, the airline earned its reputation as "The best care in the air" by providing passengers with impeccable service and onboard amenities at competitive fares. More information is available at http://www.midwestairlines.com.
Statements about the expected timing, completion and effects of the proposed merger and all other statements in this release, other than historical facts, constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements and any such forward-looking statements are qualified in their entirety by reference to the following cautionary statements. All forward-looking statements speak only as of the date hereof and are based on current expectations and involve a number of assumptions, risks and uncertainties that could cause the actual results to differ materially from such forward-looking statements. Midwest may not be able to complete the proposed merger on the terms described above or other acceptable terms or at all because of a number of factors, including the failure to satisfy the closing conditions. These factors, and other factors that may affect the business or financial results of Midwest, are described in the risk factors included in "Item 1A. Risk Factors" in Midwest's "Annual Report on Form 10-K" for the year ended December 31, 2006.



Source: Midwest Air Group, Inc.

 

[FlyWolf]

My God, its about time, now lets release the brakes and start moving forward.

 

[Propsync]

Just so it's clear, does this mean the sale must take place, or can TPG/NW still sever, in case they would want to drop this in light of all of this NW/DAL merger speculation? I guess I really don't know the timeframes.

 

[GOULET!]

I think they could still sever if they want. The DOJ was just putting a hold on the transaction until they could review the anti-trust concerns. The story does say though that the deal should be complete tomorrow so the chances of them backing out are pretty small.

 

[fam62c]

I think they could still sever if they want. The DOJ was just putting a hold on the transaction until they could review the anti-trust concerns. The story does say though that the deal should be complete tomorrow so the chances of them backing out are pretty small.

The deal will get done tomorrow, that's a certainty now. I don't think TPG will risk damage to their reputation by backing out on a little deal like this now unless they can make the argument that the deal fell through because NWA walked.

The next act in this play will be the exit of TPG. I'm curious to see how they get their 200+M +profit out of this deal. My bet is that NWA lets them suck the cash out of MEH until it's gone and then pays them the rest of what they are owed in a year or two. I think that anything that doesn't directly generate revenue will be jettisoned for cash and additional cost savings/productivity will be squeezed out to try to limit the losses. MEH is going to get bled dry then NWA will take what they want and liquidate the rest. NWA will use their equipment on the few routes that need bigger planes and when the Skywest deal expires in 4 years a NWA wholly-owned will move in with 70 seaters and hold down the rest. MKE will basicaly be a NWA RJ hub in a few years. Look at what AMR did with STL after they bought TWA........that's the future of MKE.

It may take awhile but I'll be surprised if it doesn't go down pretty much like this in the end. NWA was trying to put MEH out of business and take the MKE market in the past. MEH proved to be a tough little nut to crack and NWA ran into bigger problems with Chapter 11 before they could win the battle. This time they will win the war without having to even fire a shot.

As long as I'm being Nostradamus here I also predict that TH retires in the next 6 months and leaves as a "hero" because he fought off AAI and got the shareholders the best deal. He won't stay around to preside over the dismantling of his baby.

 

[hyperboy]

Midwest Airlines

You are a scholar.....Are you willing to put your money where mouth is? What an ego?

 

[metroplex]

I guess you will be surprised ,dillweed.....

 

[IdRtherBsailing]

The deal will get done tomorrow, that's a certainty now. I don't think TPG will risk damage to their reputation by backing out on a little deal like this now unless they can make the argument that the deal fell through because NWA walked.

The next act in this play will be the exit of TPG. I'm curious to see how they get their 200+M +profit out of this deal. My bet is that NWA lets them suck the cash out of MEH until it's gone and then pays them the rest of what they are owed in a year or two. I think that anything that doesn't directly generate revenue will be jettisoned for cash and additional cost savings/productivity will be squeezed out to try to limit the losses. MEH is going to get bled dry then NWA will take what they want and liquidate the rest. NWA will use their equipment on the few routes that need bigger planes and when the Skywest deal expires in 4 years a NWA wholly-owned will move in with 70 seaters and hold down the rest. MKE will basicaly be a NWA RJ hub in a few years. Look at what AMR did with STL after they bought TWA........that's the future of MKE.

It may take awhile but I'll be surprised if it doesn't go down pretty much like this in the end. NWA was trying to put MEH out of business and take the MKE market in the past. MEH proved to be a tough little nut to crack and NWA ran into bigger problems with Chapter 11 before they could win the battle. This time they will win the war without having to even fire a shot.

As long as I'm being Nostradamus here I also predict that TH retires in the next 6 months and leaves as a "hero" because he fought off AAI and got the shareholders the best deal. He won't stay around to preside over the dismantling of his baby.

You should really consider Scientology. With insights like this you could really kick lord Xenu in the hinder.

 

[CitationLover]

Just so it's clear, does this mean the sale must take place, or can TPG/NW still sever, in case they would want to drop this in light of all of this NW/DAL merger speculation? I guess I really don't know the timeframes.

It's over Johnny.......

 

[CitationLover]

The next act in this play will be the exit of TPG. I'm curious to see how they get their 200+M +profit out of this deal. My bet is that NWA lets them suck the cash out of MEH until it's gone and then pays them the rest of what they are owed in a year or two. I think that anything that doesn't directly generate revenue will be jettisoned for cash and additional cost savings/productivity will be squeezed out to try to limit the losses. MEH is going to get bled dry then NWA will take what they want and liquidate the rest. NWA will use their equipment on the few routes that need bigger planes and when the Skywest deal expires in 4 years a NWA wholly-owned will move in with 70 seaters and hold down the rest. MKE will basicaly be a NWA RJ hub in a few years. Look at what AMR did with STL after they bought TWA........that's the future of MKE.

Goto business school, please!!!

TWA/AA is NOT a valid comparison at all. TWA had a lot of airplanes and AA still maintains a large domicile in STL and even though they shrunk the original flying is actually going back and adding flying now. They stupidly tried to play down their TWA 757 lease costs and got burned badly when the leasing company said, ok Delta will pay our rates we're giving them to Delta. We are talking about 400 pilots and FA's at MEH which are about equal to NWA reserve requirements (and they are hiring like mad).

It may take awhile but I'll be surprised if it doesn't go down pretty much like this in the end. NWA was trying to put MEH out of business and take the MKE market in the past. MEH proved to be a tough little nut to crack and NWA ran into bigger problems with Chapter 11 before they could win the battle. This time they will win the war without having to even fire a shot.

they've already fired a shot and bought 47% of the company. you don't buy an asset, strip it, then spend MORE money to train your pilots, when you could simply integrate the small amount of MEH pilots.

As long as I'm being Nostradamus here I also predict that TH retires in the next 6 months and leaves as a "hero" because he fought off AAI and got the shareholders the best deal. He won't stay around to preside over the dismantling of his baby.

if NWA doesn't buy us outright in 6 mos., TH will "retire" within a year (that's what the public announcement will say), but he'll be fired by TPG and hopefully a REAL management team with vision (a la Bethune) is brought in.

 

[hyperboy]

Whoops stock is at 16.97 and counting not to far from the 17 per a share they bought it for huh?! So many of you act like you know everything and sad to say know about nothing!

 

[Propsync]

they've already fired a shot and bought 47% of the company. you don't buy an asset, strip it, then spend MORE money to train your pilots, when you could simply integrate the small amount of MEH pilots.

I don't know. I think it would be cheaper to put you out of work. NW's orders are firm, expense for training is accounted for. Pilot training, while expensive, is not going to be the reason ME is kept as is. You can always move 90 seat RJ's to replace the 717. NW can move off losing routes and put re-utilized aircraft in MKE. Increase revenue without having to add more aircraft. Instead of shrinking to profitability, they can redeploy assets to MKE. Why keep another fleet?

Wasn't PanAm, Eastern, and People Express done this way? I need to re-read Hard Landing. I remember Lorenzo did a real number on those guys, and I wonder if much the same will happen again.

 

[Propsync]

Whoops stock is at 16.97 and counting not to far from the 17 per a share they bought it for huh?! So many of you act like you know everything and sad to say know about nothing!

Yeah, I'm so suprised it's trading at so close to what the deal was for. And to think, I was going to buy starting at 17.25. Wonder if it will get that high...............

 

[Gearthrower]

Well, I wish all the MIDEX guys/gals the best of luck. I would not count on TPG to be the savior. My company was bought by a company owned by TPG about two years ago and they are brutal. They have stripped the little infrustructure we had and turned us into a virtual airline. Everything has been farmed out or turned over to a computer program to manage. We make money but it has become a truely differcult company to work at. I do hope you have a different experience than us, but get ready for almost anything these guys are straight out of Lorenzo's training camp. And to boot NW is involved Satan and Baby Satan.

Go luck!

 

[CitationLover]

I don't know. I think it would be cheaper to put you out of work. NW's orders are firm, expense for training is accounted for. Pilot training, while expensive, is not going to be the reason ME is kept as is. You can always move 90 seat RJ's to replace the 717. NW can move off losing routes and put re-utilized aircraft in MKE. Increase revenue without having to add more aircraft. Instead of shrinking to profitability, they can redeploy assets to MKE. Why keep another fleet?

Wasn't PanAm, Eastern, and People Express done this way? I need to re-read Hard Landing. I remember Lorenzo did a real number on those guys, and I wonder if much the same will happen again.

Again the big fish is NWA/Delta, but according to you NWA will spit in the DOJ's face and tell the government, "f@#$ you" and fire everyone. Then come back and say, "Pretty please let us merge with Delta!"

AA/TWA has changed the game from the past.

 

[Propsync]

Again the big fish is NWA/Delta, but according to you NWA will spit in the DOJ's face and tell the government, "f@#$ you" and fire everyone. Then come back and say, "Pretty please let us merge with Delta!"

AA/TWA has changed the game from the past.

No, they'll merge with Delta first, then fire you.

 

[CitationLover]

No, they'll merge with Delta first, then fire you.

Man you are on some REALLY good drugs! Whose your boss so I can call and have them threaten to fire you since you seem to get off saying that?

The deal with us closes TODAY (the DOJ treated this as a NWA buyout). I am sure the Delta merger will happen before Midnight tonight though.