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News > Deals
Delta eyes two rivals?
January 31, 2001: 7:54 a.m. ET

Delta initiates broad talks with Northwest and Continental - report
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NEW YORK (CNNfn) - Delta Air Lines has started wide-ranging talks with Northwest Airlines and Continental as it explores a strategic response to a rapidly consolidating airline industry, the Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday.

The paper said the talks are preliminary and that Atlanta-based Delta (DAL: Research, Estimates) is mainly interested in a combination with Continental. But Northwest could veto such a deal because of an alliance between itself and Continental, the report said.

graphicAlso being considered is whether a combination of Delta and Northwest makes sense, the Journal said, quoting people with knowledge of the talks. The talks also are expected to cover whether a strategic alliance short of a full merger may be viable among the carriers.

The number of airlines is shrinking after AMR, parent of American Airlines, recently unveiled plans to acquire Trans World Airlines and some assets of US Airways Group. The deal followed an agreement by UAL Corp., parent of United Airlines, the nation's biggest carrier, to buy US Airways Group Inc. (U: Research, Estimates).

Both deals are still awaiting federal regulatory clearance. If the deals are approved, AMR (AMR: Research, Estimates) will grab 25 percent of the U.S. airline market, and UAL Corp. (UAL: Research, Estimates) will hold about 26 percent of the market, according to the newspaper. No. 3 Delta holds about 18 percent of the U.S. air travel market.

Representatives for Delta, Northwest (NWAC: Research, Estimates), Continental (CAL: Research, Estimates) declined to comment on the situation, according to the Journal.

Delta stock rose $1.25 to $47.13 Tuesday. Northwest stock lost 12 cents to $25.38, Continental added 50 cents to $51.16, and AMR stock rose $1.28 to $38.25. US Airways stock added 17 cents to $45. graphic





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Most stock quote data provided by BATS. Market indices are shown in real time, except for the DJIA, which is delayed by two minutes. All times are ET. Disclaimer. Morningstar: © 2018 Morningstar, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Factset: FactSet Research Systems Inc. 2018. All rights reserved. Chicago Mercantile Association: Certain market data is the property of Chicago Mercantile Exchange Inc. and its licensors. All rights reserved. Dow Jones: The Dow Jones branded indices are proprietary to and are calculated, distributed and marketed by DJI Opco, a subsidiary of S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC and have been licensed for use to S&P Opco, LLC and CNN. Standard & Poor's and S&P are registered trademarks of Standard & Poor's Financial Services LLC and Dow Jones is a registered trademark of Dow Jones Trademark Holdings LLC. All content of the Dow Jones branded indices © S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC 2018 and/or its affiliates.