Merge By May? United and Continental Talks Heat Up

"I WANT CO!"

^{image courtesy Wall Street Journal}

We all knew the "talks" between US and UA were just a ruse:

Negotiations between UAL Corp.’s United Airlines and Continental Airlines Inc. are picking up pace, with parties believing a merger deal could be reached at the end of this month or early May, people familiar with the matter said Friday.

United Airlines would be the surviving brand if it was to merge with Continental, these people said.

If a deal goes through, the new company would be based in Chicago, where United currently has its headquarters. A tie-up between Continental, which is based in Houston, and United would create the world’s largest airline by traffic.

As I predicted, the United name would survive and the new company would be based in Chicago. As I also predicted:

These people said a merger likely would be in the form of a stock swap. Jeff Smisek, Continental’s chairman and CEO, would become CEO of the combined company, while UAL Chairman and CEO Glenn Tilton would become chairman.

Smisek is not Larry Kellner, but would likely be an improvement over Glenn Tilton.

This all could be another bluff, but I’m really getting excited now about a merger. Truth be told, I’d rather the airlines remain separate. But if a merger is inevitable, far better a UA-CO marriage than UA-US marraige.

And boy do I really feel like a fool for dumping my UAUA stock, which is now trading at $22.99/share. Ouch.

The next few weeks should be interesting.