AirTran back with ad touting Midwest takeover
The Business Journal of Milwaukee
AirTran Airways continued its efforts to build support for its offer to buy Midwest Airlines of Oak Creek with another full-page advertisement in Tuesday's Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
The ad says the Orlando, Fla., low-fare airline has received a number of unsolicited comments from shareholders in support of the $290 million offer. It quotes air industry observers who touted the benefits that could spring from a merger, including added air service out of Milwaukee and job growth. The ad cites various news reports from the Journal Sentinel, the Orlando Sentinel and the Chicago Sun-Times.
AirTran Holdings Inc. (NYSE: AAI) first took out full-page ads in the Milwaukee daily on Dec. 14, the day after AirTran management began a public campaign to sway shareholders of Midwest Airlines' parent company, Midwest Air Group Inc. (AMEX: MEH) to support its $11.25-per-share bid to buy Midwest.
Midwest's shares closed at $11.50 Friday, down 21 cents. Markets were closed Tuesday in honor of President Gerald Ford's funeral.
Midwest chairman and CEO Timothy Hoeksema has said that Midwest executives and board members consulted with investment banking firms and an outside consulting firm before turning down the offer. Hoeksema also said that Midwest's service offerings -- such as its two-by-two seating arrangement in its all-business class service -- are incompatible with a merger with another airline.
Midwest said Dec. 22 that it hired Goldman Sachs & Co. as a financial adviser to assist the firm in determining ways to increase "shareholder value."
Midwest spokeswoman Carol Skornicka said Goldman Sachs is helping Midwest determine alternative strategies for enhancing the airline's value for shareholders, without necessarily agreeing to a buyout.
Skornicka said the New York City investment bank was in the process of analyzing AirTran's bid and assessing the various elements of Midwest's growth plan, which includes the recent announcement of an agreement with SkyWest Airlines for the St. George, Utah, carrier to serve as a Midwest Connect regional carrier. She said Goldman Sachs is as well known for helping companies fend off unwanted takeover offers as they are for pairing them for mergers.
Skornicka said that as of Tuesday, Midwest has not been contacted by AirTran officials since the offer was made public.
In Tuesday's ad, it was clear that two sides have yet to enter any formal negotiation process.
"(T)he value of this proposal hinges on Midwest's management and Board sitting down with us to discuss our proposal," the ad reads in part.
AirTran spokeswoman Judy Graham-Weaver confirmed that Midwest's management has yet to agree to meet with AirTran officials. She did say, however, that AirTran believes Midwest's hiring of Goldman Sachs indicates that Midwest is taking the offer "seriously."
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