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October 26, 2004
Delta Negotiates Two Deals, but not One with Its Pilots
Delta Air Lines announced two financing deals yesterday, but its most
sought-after agreement, with its pilots’ union, remained elusive,
the New York Times reported. Delta said that it had reached
a $600 million financing agreement with American Express Travel Related
Services, including a $100 million loan. The airline also said that it
had reached a deal with various debt holders to defer $135 million in
notes that were due next year. But Delta said in a regulatory filing
that it had not reached agreement on debtor-in-possession financing. A
court filing could occur as soon as tomorrow if the airline cannot agree
with its pilots on $1 billion in wage and benefit cuts and resolve other
financial issues, the newswire reported.
US Airways CFO Resigns
US Airways Group Inc. said on Monday that CFO David Davis is
resigning to join a plastics company after 2 1/2 years with the bankrupt
airline, Reuters reported. Board member Ronald Stanley, who has served
as chairman of its audit committee, was named to replace Davis. The
Arlington, Va.–based company said Davis would stay on through
November to allow for a smooth transition at US Airways, which filed for
bankruptcy in September for the second time in two years.
Adelphia Clears Way to Joint Bid for Assets
Cable companies Time Warner Inc. and Comcast Corp. are free to bid
together for the assets of Adelphia Communications Corp., people
familiar with the matter said, the Wall Street Journal
reported. Adelphia’s board had considered keeping the two
companies apart as they ran an auction for the cable operator, which is
in chapter 11 bankruptcy protection following a massive financial
scandal. But after receiving preliminary expressions of interest from
bidders last week, Adelphia reached a confidential agreement with
Comcast and Time Warner, allowing them to submit a joint bid should they
choose to work together, the newspaper reported.
Sources Say ATA Intends to File for Bankruptcy Soon
ATA Holdings Corp., parent of ATA Airlines Inc., is expected to file
for chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in Indianapolis early this week,
wishtv.com and the Indianapolis Business Journal reported.
The filing would call for Orlando-based AirTran Holdings Inc. to
purchase select ATA assets. The announcement was expected to come Monday
afternoon, but according to WISH-TV sources, attorneys were still
working on the filing as of Monday evening.
Jury Deliberations to Begin Tomorrow on Enron Barge Deal
After six weeks of testimony and a barrage of documents, jury
deliberations are expected to begin tomorrow in the first criminal trial
to emerge from Enron Corp.’s collapse into bankruptcy proceedings
in December 2001, the Wall Street Journal reported. The
federal case here against four former Merrill Lynch & Co. executives
and two former Enron employees focuses on whether Enron had guaranteed
that Merrill would be bought out of its $7 million investment in three
power-producing barges that Enron owned off the coast of Nigeria within
six months at a specified profit.
United Airlines Moves Reservation Services to India
United Airlines is to close its reservations center in Indiana and
will transfer some of the workload to India in a bid to save money as it
struggles to escape bankruptcy, according to Airline Industry
Information. According to the airline, turnover of employees at call
centers is a problem, with 600 reservations workers leaving each year,
and the costs of hiring and training new employees was becoming
prohibitive. The Indiana call center is set to close on Jan. 6, 2005,
the Denver Post reported.
Halliburton Posts Loss on Asbestos Charge
Halliburton Co. today fell to a quarterly loss as $230 million in
charges to fund its asbestos settlement outweighed gains in its energy
business, Reuters reported. The company said its net loss in the third
quarter totaled $44 million, or 9 cents per share.