US Airways Group and AMR Corporation are on the brink of signing an $11 billion deal merging the two companies. The announcement of the merger will be made sometime this week.
After many failed attempts by the US Airways group to close deals on mergers, the company has finally got it right with AMR Corporation and is close to an $11 billion deal with them. The announcement will be made sometime this week.
Chief Executive Officer Doug Parker has successfully worked on the mistakes he made on other failed attempts for merge and has shifted marketing tactics to land this new deal. US Airways and AMR are working on the last minute details and members of both companies will be given a chance to place their votes sometime this week, after which the deal will be finalized, Bloomberg reports.
"He learns from his past mistakes," Gordon Bethune, the former CEO of Continental Airlines Inc., said in an interview. "He's done this the right way, and it's showing."
If the deal comes through, it would be the making of the biggest airline in terms of passengers traffic and would help the two airlines compete better with competitors like United Continental Holdings and Delta Air Lines who have been holding on to top positions when it comes to global traffic.
"Parker has been the No. 1 backer of consolidation," said Bob Mann, a former American Airlines executive who now runs aviation consultant R.W. Mann & Co. in Port Washington, New York. "He doesn't mind getting his nose bloody if he thinks it's the right thing to do."
Talks on the deal began January 2012 after Texas-based, Fort Worth AMR, sought court protection. Last week both companies agreed on post-merger administration and both have decided that while Parker would continue to serve as CEO of the company, American's Tom Horton would become the non-executive chairman.
