1. Art and Diseño

Fri Feb 06 09:57:21 EST 2015 American Airlines Inc.
United States
Industry: Transportation
RECENT NEWS:
Panelists discuss changes to Bankruptcy Code
SkyMall publisher looks to sell online retail business
Thu Jan 29 18:15:05 EST 2015
Fri Jan 23 13:45:03 EST 2015
Foer to step down after 17 years leading AAI
Virgin awarded two Love Field gates
Mon Nov 10 15:10:07 EST 2014
Fri Apr 25 14:40:05 EDT 2014
DOJ rebuts airline merger critics
Field Family Associates gets offer for hotel
Mon Mar 10 17:30:14 EDT 2014
Fri Feb 14 14:40:08 EST 2014
Antitrust watchdog opposes airline merger
settlement
Movers & shakers: Feb. 7, 2014
Tue Feb 11 09:20:05 EST 2014
Movers & shakers: Feb. 6, 2014
Wed Feb 05 14:15:05 EST 2014
Thu Feb 06 14:45:08 EST 2014
American announces routes cut from Reagan,
LaGuardia
Wed Jan 15 16:45:03 EST 2014
US Airways bags a rival, at a high price
Avigilon snags VideoIQ for $32 million
Fri Jan 10 13:00:10 EST 2014
Fri Jan 03 15:20:02 EST 2014
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
COMPANY PROFILE ................................................................................................................................................ PAGE 1
RECENT DEALS ....................................................................................................................................................... PAGE 2
RECENT NEWS ........................................................................................................................................................ PAGE 3
American Airlines Inc.
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02/06/2015
Recent Deals
COMPANY
DEAL
ROLE
TYPE
Lien holder
Likely bidder
DEAL
INDUSTRY
Lien Financing
American Airlines Inc.
Transportation
Auction
Japan Airlines Corp.
Transportation
REGION
DATE
VALUE
($ MIL)
Tue Mar 08 00:00:00 EST 2011
Asia
Japan
Fri Jan 01 00:00:00 EST 2010
1000.0
Thu Aug 02 00:00:00 EDT 2007
250.0
Wed Sep 14 00:00:00 EDT 2005
14352.0
Wed Jan 10 00:00:00 EST 2001
200.0
East Asia
United States
Likely bidder
Auction
Midwest Airlines
Transportation
North America
United States - Central
Bankruptcy Filing
Northwest Airlines Corp.
Transportation
Great Lakes
Midwest
United States
Lender
DIP Financing
Transportation
North America
United States - Central
Midwest
American Airlines Inc.
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Recent News
Panelists discuss changes to Bankruptcy Code
by Andrew Hedlund
Updated Thu Jan 29 18:15:05 EST 2015 ET
The debate Thursday, Jan. 29, at an American Bankruptcy Institute event centered not on whether to alter the Bankruptcy Code but on
specific changes of everything from real estate lease rejection timelines to plan voting requirements.
Still, the general consensus of the panelists at the New York event — put on by the association of bankruptcy professionals to discuss
the recommendations in its recent report on revising Chapter 11 statutes — was that any adjustments to the Code would not be large.
Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz partner Harold S. Novikoff, one of the panelists in an opening discussion, said the Dec. 8 report was
not a "teardown" of the Code. The event's moderator, Bill Rochelle of Bloomberg News, later called many of the changes "not radical."
University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law professor Michelle M. Harner said the special commission formed by the
ABI for the report began its three-year process in January 2011 asking if the rules governing bankruptcy even needed updating.
As research took place, Harner said the commission members learned small and midsize companies sometimes avoided Chapter 11,
which she called a "red flag." By the end of the process, it was clear the Bankruptcy Code could be updated, she said.
Part of the discussion dealt with the treatment of executory contracts and leases. A suggestion outlined in the commission's report was
extending the period to reject real estate leases from the current seven months to a year.
The three panelists discussing the topic — Novikoff, Harner and Seton Hall University School of Law professor Stephen Lubben —
emphasized the upside of this potential change for retailers.
Novikoff said the commission believed giving companies only 210 days to make decisions on assuming or rejecting real estate leases
harms retailers because it does not guarantee the companies will go through a holiday season, which would allow them to see if their
tweaks to strategy paid off.
"No one is happy with the number of retail liquidations," Harner said.
In a recent example, teen retailer Deb Stores Holding LLC on Jan.7 won approval from Judge Kevin Gross of the U.S. Bankruptcy
Court for the District of Delaware in Wilmington to liquidate inventory at close to 300 stores. DELiA*s Inc. entered Chapter 11 on Dec.
7 to liquidate as well, and Body Central Corp. (BODY) on Jan. 9 opted to liquidate through an assignment for the benefit of creditors,
skipping Chapter 11 altogether. (The report also noted a "common critique of Chapter 11 is that it is too expensive.")
Novikoff said the suggested one-year time frame to make a decision on real estate leases was a "fair balance" between the concerns of
landlords, who might not want a struggling business in their shopping centers, for example, and companies that want more time to
decide on the contracts. A one-year period still would be shorter than the potentially unlimited time frame for lease decisions under the
Bankruptcy Code before 2005.
Another minor alteration proposed by the commission would change references in the Bankruptcy Code to an examiner to a "more
flexible" concept of an estate neutral. Such an individual would retain the duties an examiner performs under the current system but also
be given more latitude in dealing with the unique circumstances of a case and the particular needs of a debtor.
Jack Butler of Hilco Global, Robert Keach of Bernstein, Shur, Sawyer & Nelson PA and Albert Togut of Togut, Segal & Segal LLP
discussed the notion in a second panel.
Butler said courts already were appointing individuals that performed the role of an estate neutral, though not necessarily with that
express authority. He pointed to Judge Steven Rhodes, who oversaw the municipal bankruptcy of the City of Detroit, Michigan. Butler
said Rhodes brought in many different outside opinions and required city leaders, including the mayor, to testify on the plan.
Togut said the commission settled on the term "estate neutral" to show it wanted someone with "no bias" and "no preference for an
outcome," in the hope the person could "come up with an answer that everyone can embrace and run with."
Some recommendations the commission offered, however, did a little more than slightly revamp the Code, namely with respect to small
and midsize companies.
"This is where we did more than tweak," Butler said.
American Airlines Inc.
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Small-business provisions exist in the Bankruptcy Code, but Butler asserted the statutes don't work. The commission's proposals would
broaden the reach of the provisions.
Costs often present a large problem in smaller cases, he noted. Keach added later that getting financing for smaller businesses can be
"harder [than getting financing] for American Airlines Inc."
Keach detailed how the commission's proposals tried to make securing debtor-in-possession financing easier while also respecting
creditor rights. As an example, he pointed to a recommendation that would allow second-lien creditors to supply postpetition funding
but give first-lien creditors a right of first refusal.
Another suggestion would put a 60-day moratorium on all debtors executing sales of substantially all their assets following a petition,
with certain exceptions. Butler called it a "cooling-off period."
Butler, Keach and Togut each noted that sometimes a quick sale would leave parties with a stake in the process out of the negotiating
and decision process; Togut pointed to official committees of unsecured creditors as an example.
The two-month moratorium would prevent the "shotgun sale of a business," Togut said. "Chapter 11 works best when a consensus is
reached," he added.
Two other areas in the report with significant changes address cramdowns under Chapter 11 plans and creditor voting procedures.
The commission recommended the Bankruptcy Code drop its requirement that one impaired voting class must accept the plan for it to
be confirmed — and then crammed down on any classes that rejected the plan.
New York University Law School professor Arthur J. Gonzalez, former chief judge of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern
District of New York, spoke in favor of the change.
"It was so easy to get an impaired accepting class," he said. "What does it mean?"
The commission in the report asserted the requirement's "potential delay, cost, gamesmanship and value destruction" outweighed its
benefits as a threshold for confirmation.
Finally, panelists discussed a proposed change that would give one creditor one vote in a particular class, no matter how many claims in
the class it and its affiliates held, with some exceptions. James P. Seery of hedge fund River Birch Capital LLC called the change
"pro-debtor" and "more democratic."
Seery explained that under current bankruptcy law, a creditor can go out and acquire a blocking position or amass enough claims to
hinder the debtor from reaching the requirements needed for a creditor class to accept the plan: at least two-thirds in claim amount and
one-half in number of claims must vote in favor of the plan.
American Airlines Inc.
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02/06/2015
Recent News
SkyMall publisher looks to sell online retail business
by Andrew Hedlund
Updated Fri Jan 23 13:45:03 EST 2015 ET
In-flight shopping catalog publisher Xhibit Corp. (XBTC) has landed in bankruptcy with hopes of finding a buyer for its SkyMall
business.
The Phoenix company and seven subsidiaries including SkyMall LLC on Thursday submitted Chapter 11 petitions in the U.S.
Bankruptcy for the District of Arizona in Phoenix.
Judge Brenda K. Martin is set on Tuesday to consider first-day motions, including requests for joint administration of the cases and for
permission to use existing bank accounts, continue insurance coverage and pay prepetition wages. SkyMall would be the lead debtor.
In a Friday statement, Xhibit said it sought to sell its SkyMall online retail business as well as substantially all other assets. The debtor's
SkyMall magazine is a shopping publication carried on large U.S. flights.
CFO and acting CEO Scott Wiley in a declaration Friday said the debtor aimed to hold an auction around March 24 and close a sale the
following month, but Xhibit had yet to file a sale motion as of Friday afternoon. The company also did not request use of cash collateral
or debtor-in-possession financing.
"We are extremely disappointed in [having to file for Chapter 11] and are hopeful that SkyMall and the iconic 'SkyMall' brand find a
home to continue to operate as SkyMall has for the last 25 years," Wiley said in the statement.
SkyMall is a retailer founded in 1989 that offers a wide array of merchandise from numerous direct marketers and manufacturers
through its catalog and website. SkyMall features more than 25,000 products online, with a subset of those being displayed in the
in-flight catalog.
In the declaration, Wiley attributed the bankruptcy filing to an evolving retail industry, technology advances that allow potential
customers to shop elsewhere, reduced margins, a decline in discretionary income of customers and reduced credit lines from suppliers.
Accordingly, Xhibit in early 2014 began looking to refocus SkyMall as an online direct retailer. In the fourth quarter, it sought to obtain
additional working capital to fund employee payments, but it failed to attract a debt or equity investment.
On Jan. 9, it retained financial adviser CohnReznick Capital Market Securities LLC to explore strategic alternatives including a sale. A
week later, Xhibit suspended operation of the SkyMall catalog business, which generated substantially all of the debtors' income, and
dismissed 47 of its roughly 150 employees.
The bankruptcy filing was preceded by warning signs.
In an Oct. 15 financial report filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Xhibit said there was a risk of failing to continue as a
going concern beyond Dec. 31. Auditor Farber Hass Hurley LLP on Sept. 9 raised substantial doubt about Xhibit's ability to continue
operations, citing "significant losses from operations" and financial resources that were not sufficient to fund planned operations.
In addition, the company's contract with Delta Air Lines Inc. (DAL) was terminated on Aug. 29, so the SkyMall catalog was no longer
carried on Delta flights starting Nov. 30. A Dec. 16 SEC filing shows Southwest Airlines Co. (LUV) will follow suit on April 1.
On Sept. 9, Xhibit sold its interests in SkyMall's loyalty business, SkyMall Ventures LLC, to Connexions Loyalty Inc. for $24 million in
cash. Xhibit is also entitled to receive another $3.9 million in cash in future payments, based on SkyMall Ventures' operating profits one
year from the closing of the sale.
With the sale proceeds, the company repaid the $15.21 million owed on a $17.15 million secured revolving credit facility from SMXE
Lending LLC that was set to come due on Jan. 15. As a result of the sale, Xhibit said it believes most of its cash and other assets are
unencumbered by liens.
Wiley in the declaration said SkyMall's revenue without the loyalty business was $33.7 million in 2013 and about $15.8 million in the
nine months ended Sept. 28.
Xhibit shares, traded on the OTCQB tier of OTC Markets, were down 14.1%, to 4.51 cents, in light trading Friday.
The company listed less than $50,000 in assets and liabilities in its petition. Its only four unsecured creditors are Adcafe LLC (owed
American Airlines Inc.
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$88,283), Marketo Inc. ($27,283), Identifyle Inc. ($1,825) and Big Huge Media LLC ($75), all with trade debt claims against the debtor.
Xhibit's petition estimated funds would be left to pay off the creditors.
SkyMall, meanwhile, listed $1 million to $10 million in assets and $10 million to $50 million in liabilities. Its largest unsecured
creditors include Delta ($1.46 million), American Airlines Inc. (AAL) ($1.02 million), US Airways ($613,837), Gemmy Industries
Corp. ($549,539) and United Parcel Service of North America Inc. (UPS) ($481,770).
Robert Harris, John Harris, Lori Winkelman and Jason Curry of Quarles & Brady LLP are debtor counsel. Robert and John Harris were
not available for comment.
American Airlines Inc.
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02/06/2015
Recent News
Foer to step down after 17 years leading AAI
by Bill McConnell In Washington
Updated Mon Nov 10 15:10:07 EST 2014 ET
Albert Foer, founder, president and CEO of the American Antitrust Institute, announced Monday he will step down effective January
2015 after 17 years at the group's helm.
The AAI was launched to promote stronger enforcement of antitrust laws. Foer will be succeeded by AAI vice president Diana Moss,
who the AAI said was selected from a "pool of prestigious candidates after a national search."
The AAI, under Foer's leadership, has often been a lonely voice in antitrust circles for more robust enforcement during the past nearly
two decades as even Democratic policymakers have accepted the tenets of the so-called Chicago School that has prevailed since the
Reagan era. Regulators have largely accepted the school's notion that merger challenges require more than simple measurements of
market-share changes. The idea is most associated with the University of Chicago's law and economics departments and many assert
that it promotes deregulation and lighter merger enforcement.
Paradoxically, Foer is a graduate of the University of Chicago Law School, where he was an associate law review editor. At the law
school he studied under Richard A. Posner and Ronald H. Coase, two leading scholars of the school.
Recently, the AAI has been calling on the Department of Justice to block Comcast Corp.'s proposed $45 billion acquisition of Time
Warner Cable Inc. and questioning the wisdom of letting Sysco Corp. go through with its pending $8.2 billion proposed acquisition of
US Foods Inc. The AAI also opposed the terms under which the DOJ approved U.S. Airways Group Inc.'s $11 billion purchase of
American Airlines Inc. last year.
Foer started the AAI with assistance from consumer advocate Ralph Nader. Among its early funders was Oracle Corp., which at the
time was in dispute with Microsoft Corp. over the operating system giant's competitive practices. Another was online travel booking
service Travelocity.com Inc. as it was in disputes with Orbitz Worldwide Inc.
Despite the big-name backers, the AAI has operated on small budget and Foer has worked out of his home.
AAI board chairman Robert Skitol said Moss "is ideally positioned to build on Bert's powerful 17-year legacy and to take the AAI in
new directions over the years ahead."
Foer said Moss "has been my trusted right hand for 14 years" and "is a skilled competition advocate with strong connections in the
antitrust and regulatory communities and has been instrumental in helping build the AAI into a leading, progressive competition
advocacy organization."
Moss, an economist, is credited with extending the AAI's competency in several industries that garner major attention from antitrust
enforcers, including energy, transportation, agriculture, telecommunications, and healthcare.
Foer, who turned 70 this year, will continue with the AAI in a new half-time role focusing on international competition advocacy and
competition culture. "We are delighted that Bert has committed to remain a key member of our Management Committee to support
Diana and the AAI in advancing our ambitious agenda for 2015 and thereafter," Skitol said.
Moss previously served as a senior staff economist at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission where she coordinated competition
analysis for electricity mergers. From 1989 to 1994, she consulted in private practice in the areas of regulation and antitrust at the
National Economic Research Associates and consulting firm Putnam, Hayes and Bartlett Inc. She has published articles in a number of
economic and legal academic journals, including American Economic Review, Journal of Industrial Organization, the Energy Law
Journal, and the Antitrust Bulletin. She is editor of Network Access, Regulation and Antitrust, published in 2005 and is an adjunct
faculty member in the Department of Economics at the University of Colorado at Boulder. She holds an M.A. from the University of
Denver and a Ph.D. from the Colorado School of Mines. She lives in Colorado and will split her time between there and Washington.
Foer's career has included private law practice in the Washington offices of Hogan & Hartson LLP and Jackson & Campbell PC.
He also served as assistant director and acting deputy director of the Federal Trade Commission's Bureau of Competition. For 12 years
he was also CEO of his family's chain of retail jewelry stores. He has published extensively on competition policy and is editor of the
Next Antitrust Agenda and co-editor of the International Handbook on Private Enforcement of Competition Law and of Private
Enforcement of Antitrust Law in the United States. In addition to his law degree from the University of Chicago, he also earned an A.B.
(magna cum laude) from Brandeis University and an M.A. in political science from Washington University.
American Airlines Inc.
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American Airlines Inc.
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Recent News
Virgin awarded two Love Field gates
by Lou Whiteman
Updated Fri Apr 25 14:40:05 EDT 2014 ET
Virgin America Inc. said Friday that the airline has been selected by the U.S. Department of Justice to acquire two gates at Dallas' Love
Field being divested as part of the settlement that allowed the parent of American Airlines Inc. to merge with US Airways Group Inc.
American and U.S. Air combined in December to create American Airlines Group Inc., but to secure antitrust approval for the deal the
companies were required to give up operations in Dallas, Washington, D.C. and New York, among other cities. San Francisco-based
Virgin America said it would use the Love Field gates to offer service to Washington and New York along with San Francisco and Los
Angeles. Virgin America had been vying with Love Field market leader Southwest Airlines Co. and Delta Air Lines Inc. for the Dallas
gates, and neither regulators nor other airlines on Friday confirmed Virgin had been selected. Virgin America officials at a press event
Friday said that the gate award was subject to approval by the city of Dallas and other conditions it described as routine. — Lou
Whiteman
American Airlines Inc.
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Recent News
DOJ rebuts airline merger critics
by Bill McConnell In Washington
Updated Mon Mar 10 17:30:14 EDT 2014 ET
The Department of Justice is urging a federal judge to disregard critics of an agency settlement with US Airways Group Inc. that
allowed the carrier's $11 billion takeover of American Airlines Inc. to win antitrust approval.
The DOJ's Antitrust Division on Monday filed its response to more than a dozen comments filed with the U.S. District Court in
Washington regarding the November 2013 settlement that obligated US Airways to give up all of American's 104 air carrier slots at
Reagan National Airport in Washington, 34 slots at LaGuardia International in New York City, as well as gates at Boston Logan
International, Chicago O'Hare International, Dallas Love Field, Los Angeles International and Miami International to mitigate harm the
DOJ said that the merger would otherwise cause to flying consumers. The divested assets must be sold to low-cost carriers such as
Southwest Airlines Co., JetBlue Airways Inc. and others.
The DOJ countered complaints from several parties that the settlement failed to address the harm caused by reducing the number of
major domestic airlines from five to four and the number of "legacy airlines" with a truly nationwide footprint from four to three.
"The competitive significance of the remedy is reflected in the value being paid for the divested Reagan National and LaGuardia slots
— over $425 million — which is unprecedented in the airline industry and among the most substantial merger remedies in any
industry," the DOJ said in a filing.
The federal Tunney Act requires that DOJ antitrust remedies be vetted in public comments and approved by a federal judge before being
finalized. Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly is presiding over the review.
DOJ characterized the settlement as a "major victory" for consumers in the U.S. because it will enable low-cost carriers to millions of
passengers on new routes each year. "It fully addresses the harm that would have resulted from [the merged airlines'] control of nearly
70% of the limited takeoff and landing slots" at Reagan National, the DOJ said.
By ensuring that low-cost carriers are able to acquire the otherwise unobtainable slots at Reagan and LaGuardia, the DOJ said the
merger addresses the government's primary concern that the merger as it was proposed would have made it easier for the remaining
legacy carriers — the merged US Airways/American, United and Delta — to cooperate on the prices and services they offer rather than
competing with each other.
"The structure of the airline industry was already conducive to coordinated behavior among the legacy carriers," the DOJ said. US
Airways tempered the industry's structural flaws by offering discounted "Advantage Fares," for connecting flights that competed with
other airlines'. The DOJ argued that post-merger the combined carrier would be less inclined to offer advantage fairs.
The American Antitrust Institute, a public advocacy group devoted to strong antitrust enforcement, questioned the long-term benefit of
divestitures to Southwest and other low cost carriers.
But the DOJ noted that the divestiture of slots at Reagan National and LaGuardia has already begun and the acquirers will begin
operating the slots later this year. The process for divesting gates at the remaining airports is expected to occur in the "near future." The
divestitures will increase the scope of the low cost carriers' networks and "bring the consumer-friendly policies of the low cost carriers
to more travelers across the country," DOJ said.
Those policies include Southwest and JetBlue's policies of allowing travelers' first bag to be stowed free of charge as well as overall
lower ticket prices. The DOJ again cited the lower fares out of Newark Liberty International Airport when Southwest acquired 36 slots
at the New Jersey airport in 2010, evidence of the lower prices ushered in when a low-cost carrier gains flights out of a new airport.
The DOJ also dismissed Delta Air Lines' plea for the right to bid on the divested slots. "Delta argues that it should not be precluded"
from acquiring divested slots and gates at Reagan National and Dallas Love Field," the Justice Department noted. But Delta's assertion
that the low-cost carriers do not offer meaningful service to business travelers and do not provide adequate competition to United, the
new American and Delta are wrong, the Department of Justice said.
Southwest, for instance, reported that roughly 35% of its passengers are traveling on business. What's more, the legacy carriers are more
likely to fly high-volume routes and neglect medium and small communities that low-cost carriers are willing to serve.
American Airlines Inc.
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Recent News
Field Family Associates gets offer for hotel
by Bevin Fletcher
Updated Fri Feb 14 14:40:08 EST 2014 ET
Field Family Associates LLC is looking to sell its New York hotel for $41 million after winning confirmation of its reorganization plan
a second time.
After FFA's first plan was confirmed on Oct. 2 the debtor received an offer for its hotel and filed a second amended plan on Jan. 8,
according to debtor counsel Lawrence G. McMichael of Dilworth Paxson LLP.
"The original plan did not contemplate a sale," McMichael said. "Since then the debtor has received an attractive offer for the
acquisition of the hotel."
The King of Prussia, Pa., company owns the Hampton Inn at JFK, located at the John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York.
Magna Hospitality Group, a Warwick, R.I.-based real estate fund specializing in hotels, offered to purchase the 216-room hotel through
its affiliate MHF Properties IV LLC, McMichael said.
Despite a desire to sell, the debtor has not executed an asset purchase agreement yet because there is some uncertainty around whether it
will be allowed to, according to McMichael. However, he noted that FFA was at a hearing in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern
District of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia on Wednesday seeking approval for certain aspects related to the sale.
McMichael said the debtor on Wednesday won permission to pay the prospective purchaser an expense reimbursement of $150,000 in
connection with the sale, arguing that the small amounts were warranted given the $41 million offer would be enough to repay all
creditors in full. It remains unclear what other sale hurdles the debtor has to clear, but the company is required to choose whether it will
choose to restructure or sell by two days before the effective date.
Judge Stephen Raslavich confirmed Field Family's second amended plan on Jan. 31.
McMichael said that an asset purchase agreement would be filed when the potential issues are resolved, and that the debtor is asking to
extend the current Feb. 28 effective date deadline until sometime in March. The plan would go effective when the sale closes.
Under the modified second amended plan, administrative claims, priority claims ($452,068), secured tax claims ($111,795), general
unsecured claims ($809,253), and unsecured claims held by affiliate FHA II LLC ($2.5 million), will be paid in full with cash from sale
proceeds on the effective date.
Wells Fargo Bank NA, as trustee for holders of a commercial mortgage and note agreement dated Jan. 23, 2007, is the debtor's largest
secured creditor. The trustee had asserted a $39.5 million claim but agreed to an allowed claim totaling $31.32 million.
In the event of a sale, Magna can choose to either assume the loan and make related payments, or pay Wells Fargo a lump sum of
$31.78 million in cash on the effective date.
If Magna did not opt for the one-time payment, then it would pay Wells Fargo $100,000 on the effective date, then make interest-only
payments for 18 months based on a 20-year amortization scheduled, and then make monthly principal and interest payments until the
loan matures on Feb. 1, 2017.
Member interests, under the sale option, would receive any funds remaining after all other creditors were paid, in proportion to their
ownership interest.
FFA will revert to the restructuring plan confirmed in October if the sale does not go through, according to McMichael.
Under that plan, filed Aug. 20, all creditors aside from Wells Fargo would receive amortized quarterly payments for four years
beginning on the effective date at 1% interest rate per annum.
Membership interests would be preserved and New-Penn Management Co. would continue to operate the hotel as a Hampton Inn.
Regardless of the sale, on the effective date the debtor will pay Wells Fargo a $309,306 restructuring fee. Wells Fargo's debt would
begin to accrue interest at a fixed rate of 5.5% and be paid in the same way described under Magna's assumption option.
Both the restructuring and the sale scenario establish an escrow fund to pay for hotel renovations, the establishment of an escrow fund to
American Airlines Inc.
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pay for hotel renovations. Magna would deposit $2.5 million for renovations, or the debtor contribute $2 million using funds from a loan
provided by affiliate Field Family Trust.
Renovations would be completed within one year of the effective date, court documents show.
FFA was forced into bankruptcy on July 2, 2012, when creditors Ollie Cherniahivsky & Associates, T&L Cleaning Inc., Kanch USA
Inc., Leon's Supply Inc., and Penn Glass Enterprises Ltd., filed an involuntary petition against the hotel owner. An order for relief was
entered Sept. 12.
The same principals of LaGuardia Associates LP, which owns and operates the LaGuardia Plaza Hotel in New York, own the debtor.
Creditors filed an involuntary Chapter 11 petition against LaGuardia Associates on Dec. 6, 2011, and the company's reorganization plan
went effective Oct. 9, 2013.
McMichael said that LaGuardia Associates had hoped to sell the property but ultimately decided restructuring was a better move.
In court documents FFA said it began experiencing financial difficulties and fell behind on obligations relating to its Hampton Inn
Franchise agreement. The hotel owner cited low occupancy rates due to the economic recession in 2008 and 2009, as well as the failure
to collect a large receivable from American Airlines Inc. when the airline filed for bankruptcy.
Despite an involuntary filing, the debtor has worked closely with the creditors committee and Wells Fargo to come to a consensual
resolution, McMichael said, so the case is proceeding smoothly and peacefully. He also noted that the hotel is operating as usual and is
booked with reservations.
Peter C. Hughes and Catherine G. Pappas of Dilsworth Paxson are also debtor counsel.
Ashely M. Chan of Hangley Aronchick Segal Pudlin & Schiller represents the creditors committee.
Brett D. Anders of Polsinelli Shughart PC is counsel for Wells Fargo.
American Airlines Inc.
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Recent News
Antitrust watchdog opposes airline merger settlement
Updated Tue Feb 11 09:20:05 EST 2014 ET
The American Antitrust Institute and a group of consumer groups have filed comments with the Department of Justice calling on the
agency to renegotiate or take to trial its case challenging U.S. Airways Group Inc.'s $11 billion purchase of American Airlines Inc. AAI
and its allies said a settlement between the DOJ and the airlines announced in November is not in the public interest. The government's
settlement allowed the deal to go forward, conditioned upon the divestitures of 104 air carrier slots at Reagan National Airport in
Washington D.C., 34 slots at LaGuardia Airport in New York, and two gates at each of five other airports to low cost carriers. AAI's
comments were filed as part of the Tunney Act review of the settlement. The law requires that DOJ antitrust settlements be reviewed by
a federal judge before being declared final. If the judge determines a settlement is not in the public interest, the settlement may be
terminated. AAI said the settlement fails to address the bulk of the anticompetitive effects detailed in the government's complaint,
including the harm to the approximately 1,000 highly concentrated city-pair routes that the DOJ said would suffer reduced competition
because of the merger. "The government has not explained how divesting slots and gates to low cost carriers, which tend to operate in
local markets, will address the problem of increased coordinated effects among the remaining three legacy airlines nationwide," AAI
said. "The department's settlement sacrifices the ever-dwindling national legacy-airline competition in favor of improved [low cost
carrier] local competition on routes at a handful of airports, a tradeoff that on its face makes no sense for consumers overall, let alone for
those who benefited from head-to-head competition," AAI said. — Bill McConnell
American Airlines Inc.
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Recent News
Movers & shakers: Feb. 7, 2014
Compiled by Baz Hiralal
Updated Thu Feb 06 14:45:08 EST 2014 ET
Jack Butler, who counseled unsecured creditors in American Airlines Inc.'s reorganization and worked on its $18 billion merger with US
Airways Group Inc., has left Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP for Hilco Global. He isn't the only lawyer-turned-Hilco
executive. Ben Nortman, executive vice president of Hilco Merchant Resources and managing director of Hilco Consumer Capital, was
a Chicago bankruptcy attorney at Jones Day. General counsel Eric Kaup came in from Skadden's Chicago office nine years ago, while
assistant general counsel Ian Fredricks arrived from Skadden in 2011.
Butler has worked with Hilco for many years and knows its CEO, Jeffrey B. Hecktman. Cory Lipoff, an executive vice president and
principal at Hilco Merchant Resources LLC, and the Hilco real estate team of Greg Apter and Neil Aaronson have also worked with
Butler over the years.
Butler got his start in 1980 at Honigman Miller in Detroit after getting his law degree from the University of Michigan. In January 1982
he went to Detroit's Butzel, Keidan, Simon, Myers & Graham, building his reputation as a restructuring lawyer and then moving to
Chicago in 1990 with Skadden, where he helped build its bankruptcy practice. His prominence grew in the industry as he got work on
the Delphi Corp., Kmart Corp., US Airways Group and Xerox Corp. restructurings. Landing the American role over several other firms
was a big win for Skadden, which usually counsels debtors.
Butler joins Hilco as executive vice president, reporting to Hecktman. The liquidator, which own brands such as Polaroid and recently
helped fund the 363 process for Hostess Brands Inc., also has its hands in private equity and valuation services.
Butler, a founder and past chairman of the Turnaround Management Association, also teaches Sunday school, coaches his four young
children's athletic teams and serves in leadership positions with numerous civic and charitable organizations.
Nomura Holdings Inc. appointed Mike Ward as head of equity sales, Europe, the Middle East and Africa. Based in London, he will
report to Chris Fleming, head of global markets sales, EMEA, who said in a statement, "During the past year, the contribution of
equities to overall global market revenues has grown significantly and there are real opportunities for Nomura to increase market share
in both cash and derivative products."
Ward was a principal at C8 Investments, responsible for sales and marketing. Prior to that, he spent eight years at Bank of America
Merrill Lynch, most recently as head of EMEA equity sales. He also worked at Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. and Deutsche Bank AG.
Last month, the firm hired Todd Sandoz as global head of execution services and equity trading, based in London. Sandoz joined
Nomura from Credit Suisse Group, where he spent 17 years. Most recently, he was head of global foreign exchange and short-term
interest rates trading in London. Before that, he had been co-head of Americas equities, global head of cash equity trading and execution
and head of equity derivatives and equity trading, Asia Pacific.
Morgan Stanley brought in Shamyl Malik as head of electronic trading for foreign exchange in London. He was head of emerging
markets and precious metals electronic trading at Citibank NA, which he joined in 2010.
Chevy Chase Trust hired Amy P. Raskin as chief investment officer.
Raskin was with AllianceBernstein in New York, where she was senior vice president and director of thematic research, head of U.S.
and global growth equity research and chief investment officer of AllianceBernstein Venture Capital Fund. Raskin joined
AllianceBernstein in 2000 as an equity analyst and spent 13 years there focused on research and thematic investing. Earlier, she worked
as a research analyst and investment banker at Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette Inc. and Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc.
Private equity firm Castanea Partners enlisted Ron Frasch as an operating partner, focusing on luxury products and services. Frasch was
president and chief merchandising officer at Saks Fifth Avenue from 2007 until the sale of the company to Hudson's Bay Co. last year
for $2.4 billion. He joined SFA in 2004. Before that, he was president and CEO of luxury goods retailer Bergdorf Goodman, a Neiman
Marcus Group Inc. subsidiary.
Frasch also worked at GFT USA and Escada USA as president, and president and CEO, respectively, and at Neiman Marcus, where he
was senior vice president and general merchandise manager for ready-to-wear, accessories and cosmetics.
In a press release, Frasch noted the opportunity to work closely again with Castanea founders Brian Knez and Rob Smith. Knez was vice
chairman of the board of Neiman Marcus, where he was also co-CEO (alongside Smith) from 1999 to 2001 and was a member of the
board of directors from 1998 until the sale of the company in 2005 to Texas Pacific Group and Warburg Pincus LLC for $5.1 billion.
American Airlines Inc.
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Smith had been a member of the Neiman Marcus board since 1997.
Foley & Lardner LLP said Jami Gekas joined the firm's intellectual property litigation practice as a partner in its Chicago office.
Previously, she was a partner in the IP practice of Edwards Wildman Palmer LLP, counseling startups, e-commerce providers and
emerging brands.
Mayer Brown LLP hired Julian Ellison as a partner for its antitrust and competition practice in Brussels. Previously, he was a partner in
the Brussels office at Ashurst.
Clippings from the next column:
-- BMO Capital Markets hires Lyle Wilpon as head of U.S. M&A.
-- Icahn Enterprises LP appoints Keith Cozza as president and CEO.
-- Deutsche Asset & Wealth Management adds Brandt Daniel as a managing director and private banker.
-- The Financial Conduct Authority recruits former Goldman, Sachs & Co., managing director James Kelly as an adviser in the
wholesale banking and investment management division in its supervision unit.
-- Glassdoor Inc. taps Adam C. Spiegel as chief financial officer.
American Airlines Inc.
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Recent News
Movers & shakers: Feb. 6, 2014
Compiled by Baz Hiralal
Updated Wed Feb 05 14:15:05 EST 2014 ET
In a return to the intimate dance of merchant banking, several firms have risen in recent years, but none have carried the weight of
history like James Lindsey Kempner's move to his great-grandfather's firm to run day-to-day operations. A veteran Lazard banker,
"Jamie" Kempner, the great-grandson of banking pillar Carl M. Loeb, joined Loeb Holding Corp. as president. His father, Thomas
Kempner, remains as chairman and CEO, a role he has held at the firm and its predecessors since 1979.
With the younger Kempner's arrival — and possibly his tome of clients — the privately held investment bank is looking to refocus on its
merchant banking roots. It will expand into merger and acquisition advisory in addition to investing. His sweet spot is in transportation
and logistics banking and capital markets transactions, while he has covered technology, media and telecommunications and consumer
goods. After gaining an MBA from Harvard, he joined Lazard in 1983, becoming a general partner in 1993, and ran the firm's corporate
finance department from 1995 to 1998. He was most recently a senior adviser and managing director. Kempner graduated from Yale
University, where he met his wife, Cynthia and where his father and his brother, Thomas L. Kempner Jr., attended. Before working at
Davidson Kempner Capital Management LLC, from April 1981 to February 1983, Kempner Jr. was a vice president of Loeb Partners,
where he traded a bond arbitrage portfolio and headed the firm's money market department.
Loeb Holdings can trace its beginnings to 1931, just after the Great Depression, when Carl M. Loeb & Co. was founded by its namesake
and son John L. Loeb. A few years later, the firm combined with brokerage Rhoades & Co. and became Loeb, Rhoades & Co., a name it
held until 1979 when it was bought by Sandy Weill's Shearson Hayden Stone. It then became Shearson Loeb Rhoades, which, in 1981,
American Express Co. bought for $915 million in stock. In 1984, AmEx combined it with Lehman Brothers Kuhn Loeb (which was
co-founded in 1867 by Solomon Loeb — yes, a member of the philanthropic family), creating Shearson Lehman/American Express. In
1988, it was combined with E.F. Hutton & Co., becoming Shearson Lehman Hutton Inc. and then Shearson Lehman Brothers in 1990.
Now, you may be wondering where Loeb Holding came in; well, in 1982 Loeb Partners Corp. was founded by Thomas L. Kempner as
an investment vehicle for the Loeb family and outside investors.
Jamie Kempner will have help from managing director Said Armutcuoglu to expand the M&A business. He joined the firm in 2009 and
began his career at Lazard in 1992 in the Chicago office, moving to the New York office in 1994.
Loeb Holding recently relocated to the 14th floor of Sullivan & Cromwell LLP's headquarters at 125 Broad St. from 61 Broadway. The
lease is for 15 years and 10 months. The merchant banking operation will focus on the U.S. and invest $500,000 to $25 million per deal
depending on family's and friends' involvement.
Capital One Bank appointed David Jacobson as a wealth planner, based in New York. He arrived from UBS Bank, where he specialized
in private wealth management. Prior to UBS, he provided wealth planning strategy services for ultra-high-net-worth clients at Deutsche
Bank Private Wealth Management. Jacobson also practiced trust and estate law with Carter Ledyard & Milburn LLP in New York.
On Jan. 1, 2015, Roger Meltzer and Nigel Knowles will become global co-chairmen of DLA Piper, succeeding Lee I. Miller and Tony
Angel. Also, Cameron Rains and Simon Levine will become global co-CEOs of the firm. Rains will replace co-CEO J. Terence
O'Malley, while Levine will replace Knowles.
Meltzer and Rains will retain their roles as co-chairmen of the Americas. Knowles, managing partner of the international business, will
hold that role until April 30, 2015. Levine will remain as co-managing director of groups and services for the international business until
Dec. 31.
Knowles' and Levine's appointments are subject to approval by members of DLA Piper International LLP.
Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP announced that Adam G. Safwat joined the firm as counsel in Washington. He was most recently deputy
chief in the fraud section of the U.S. Department of Justice, criminal division. He joins Weil's white collar defense and investigations
practice and will focus on white collar criminal defense, regulatory enforcement matters, and internal investigations.
Safwat joins former colleague Steven A. Tyrrell, who was chief of the DOJ's fraud section. Tyrrell is managing partner of the
Washington office and head of the white collar defense and investigations practice.
Jones Day said of counsel Philippe Goutay and associate Anselme Mialon will join its financial institutions litigation and regulation
practice in Paris. They hail from Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer's Paris office, where Goutay led the financial services practice.
Eva Davis joined Winston & Strawn LLP from Kirkland & Ellis LLP as chairwoman of West Coast private equity, based in Los
American Airlines Inc.
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Angeles. Davis was the founding partner of Kirkland's Los Angeles corporate department, where she practiced for 15 years.
Allen & Overy LLP launched an office in Barcelona with the addition of Antoni "Toni" Valverde. He joins from Freshfields Bruckhaus
Deringer and focuses on private mergers and acquisitions.
Labor and employment lawyers Zach Fasman, Allan Bloom and Erika Collins joined Proskauer Rose LLP as partners in New York from
Paul Hastings LLP.
Clippings from the next column:
-- Jack Butler, who counseled unsecured creditors in American Airlines Inc.'s reorganization and worked on its $18 billion merger with
US Airways Group Inc., leaves Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP for Hilco Global.
-- Nomura Holdings Inc. appoints Mike Ward as head of equity sales, EMEA.
-- Morgan Stanley taps Shamyl Malik as head of electronic trading for foreign exchange in London.
-- Chevy Chase Trust hires Amy P. Raskin as chief investment officer.
-- Castanea Partners enlists Ron Frasch as an operating partner, focusing on luxury products and services.
American Airlines Inc.
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Recent News
American announces routes cut from Reagan, LaGuardia
Updated Wed Jan 15 16:45:03 EST 2014 ET
American Airlines Group Inc. Wednesday announced that it plans to eliminate nonstop service to 20 cities from Washington Reagan
National (DCA) and New York LaGuardia airports as a result of network changes necessitated by the slot and gate divestitures
mandated by the Department of Justice as part of federal antitrust approval of the US Airways Group Inc.'s $11 billion takeover of
bankrupt AMR Corp., the parent of American Airlines Inc.
The combined company, since renamed, said it plans to eliminate year-round, daily nonstop service to 17 destinations from Reagan
National: Augusta, Ga.; Detroit; Fayetteville, N.C.; Fort Walton Beach, Fla.; Islip, N.Y.; Jacksonville, N.C.; Little Rock, Ark.;
Minneapolis; Montreal; Myrtle Beach, S.C.; Nassau, Bahamas; Omaha; Pensacola, Fla.; San Diego; Savannah, Ga.; Tallahassee, Fla.
and Wilmington, N.C.
Effective dates for the changes at DCA will be announced after the sale of slots and related assets is finalized in the coming weeks,
American said. The airline did say that flyers in the nation's capital and on the West Coast will benefit from American's plan to add a
second daily nonstop between Reagan National and Los Angeles by shifting US Airways' current San Diego flight to Los Angeles.
In addition, service to Fort Myers, Fla. ,from Reagan National will change from year-round service to a seasonal schedule. Nonstop
service from LaGuardia to Atlanta, Ga., Cleveland and Minneapolis will be eliminated.
However, due to the combination of American's and US Airways' networks, the new airline said it will be able to add service from
LaGuardia to 10 communities: Charlottesville, Va.; Little Rock; Roanoke, Va.; Dayton, Ohio; Louisville, Ky.; Wilmington; Greensboro,
N.C.; Norfolk, Va.; Knoxville, Tenn., and Richmond, Va.
Booking for the new routes begins Sunday, Jan. 26, for travel beginning April 1. — Bill McConnell
American Airlines Inc.
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Recent News
US Airways bags a rival, at a high price
by Bill McConnell In Washington
Updated Fri Jan 10 13:00:10 EST 2014 ET
US Airways Group Inc.'s $11 billion takeover of American Airlines Inc. was one of the industry-altering transactions of 2013. Assuming
a federal judge approves the settlement reached between the carriers and the U.S. Department of Justice in November, only three legacy
carriers will serve the U.S. with truly nationwide route networks and international capacity.
The reduction of four national carriers to three alarmed the DOJ enough that it filed a lawsuit to block the merger in August. The timing
and breadth of the lawsuit caught executives for the carriers and their lawyers off guard. They had expected the department's Antitrust
Division to use the same city-to-city analysis that allowed the mergers of United's UAL Corp. and Continental Airlines Inc. in 2010 as
well as Delta Airlines Inc. and Northwest Airlines Corp. in 2008 to go through with a few concessions. In the American deal, US
Airways anticipated that it would have to divest some slots at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport and perhaps among another
dozen or so city pairs across the country.
Instead, prompted in part by the consolidation brought on by those two previous mergers, the DOJ applied an antitrust analysis more
akin to the national network framework the agency used in its successful effort to block AT&T Inc.'s attempt to acquire T-Mobile USA
Inc. in 2011. The DOJ declared that the takeover of American and its bankrupt parent AMR Corp. would lead to a loss of competition
for more than 1,000 routes.
To antitrust experts, the sweeping allegation put the airlines in a dilemma — there was no obvious remedy to address such a broad
allegation of consumer harm and to many the merger challenge appeared destined for trial before a federal judge.
Although US Airways CEO Doug Parker insisted as soon as the DOJ filed its case on Aug. 14 that the government would settle,
negotiations over a deal proceeded fruitlessly for more than two months. A trial appeared inevitable until the first week of November,
when according to individuals involved in the discussions, the parties finally reached a breakthrough that set the stage for settling the
case. According to participants who spoke with The Deal on background, the sticking point was the extent of divestitures at Reagan
National. Oddly, it was not the seemingly intractable issue of protecting competition for more than 1,000 routes that would be the
hardest issue to resolve, but rather it was the one that appeared easiest to address when the merger was announced.
In the end, the DOJ required US Airways to give up all of American's 104 air carrier slots at Reagan National. The merged airline would
be allowed to keep slots for commuter flights at the facility but only if it committed to use them for service to small and medium-sized
markets. The airlines also agreed to give up 34 slots at LaGuardia International in New York City and gates at Boston Logan
International, Chicago O'Hare International, Dallas Love Field, Los Angeles International and Miami International. The DOJ anticipated
that all the divested assets would be sold to low-cost carriers like Southwest Airlines Co. and JetBlue Airways Corp.
AIRLINE OFFICIALS and sympathetic analysts characterized the settlement as in line with what they expected to give up going into
the antitrust discussions but parties on both sides of the talks say the final result, particularly the extent of divestitures at Reagan
National, was a far cry from what the airlines anticipated when they announced the deal in February.
In fact, it was only at the end of October, with a trial scheduled to begin Thanksgiving week, that there was significant enough progress
for the parties to believe a settlement was possible. The turning point appeared to come on Oct. 25 when the DOJ submitted economic
analyses prepared by Charles River Associates and other economists to Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly of the U.S. Court of Appeals in
Washington. The reports showed that after each of the deals carried out by United and Delta capacity went down and prices went up
despite predictions by the carriers' to the contrary. The analyses also showed that Reagan National was underutilized because US
Airway's and American's slots were being used for smaller planes with capacity of 55 to 70 passengers, thus artificially squeezing
capacity.
The DOJ also was skeptical of the airlines' claim that by becoming more efficient they would be in a better position to increase service
to smaller and midsized airports. Although the government acknowledged that connecting US Airways' domestic network with
American's international network made a lot of sense, the regulators worried that the combined airline would have no way to provide a
return to shareholders on the merger without hiking prices.
The DOJ argued that the cost structure of the new American was going to be a bit higher than either of the airlines on their own. To the
extent the merging parties were going to provide shareholder value and pay off bankrupt AMR's creditors, it was only going to be
through higher prices and reductions in competition.
The DOJ expects low-cost carriers like Southwest and JetBlue will fly Boeing 737s or Airbus 319s and 320s, which typically carry
between 100 and 200 passengers, when they acquire the Reagan National slots. That will drive prices down, the DOJ argued, because to
fill their bigger planes the discounters and the legacies both will have to price more competitively.
American Airlines Inc.
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Although the airlines had asserted since August that the government was presenting a weak case, the economic reports at least did the
job of convincing them that the government wasn't going to back down. Talks over settlement terms began in earnest.
STILL, THE CARRIERS were taken back by the DOJ's insistence that US Airways give up all of American's air carrier slots at Reagan.
They countered with offers to shed 40, then 45 and 60. The DOJ refused the smaller offers and finally the parties agreed to relinquish all
104 American slots. While the back and forth over Reagan National played out the DOJ refused overtures to discuss its terms at other
airports.
Once the airlines agreed to DOJ's demands at Reagan National, the terms for the other airports were agreed to within 36 hours.
Sources close to the airlines said the DOJ staff's interpretation of events is mistaken. They contend that talks toward a settlement were
well under way before the reports were submitted and the studies had little impact on the airlines' willingness to settle. The DOJ's
contention that Reagan National was under utilized is one the agency had stated before the US Airways-American deal and was well
known to the parties. The settlement simply came about when the airlines and the DOJ finally had terms both sides could live with, they
said.
The DOJ's refusal to discuss the broader terms of the settlement until the number of divested slots at Reagan was agreed upon only
delayed reaching a deal. After the DOJ informed the parties that the airlines' initial settlement offer was not sufficient, the airlines
contend they weren't given any follow-up guidance on what the DOJ believed was necessary to resolve its concerns.
In the end the airlines and many in the antitrust bar question whether the settlement, which is expected to be approved by Kollar-Kotelly
this spring, addresses the claims of harm made in the lawsuit.
To the airlines, the requirement that the divested assets be sold to discounters as a way of preventing the legacy carriers' gaining
increased ability to coordinate on routes and fares is like forcing a square peg into a round hole.
To antitrust lawyers outside the negotiations, the DOJ's settlement appeared to be insufficient to address a claim that the merger would
harm competition among more than 1,000 routes.
The DOJ, however, contends that the settlement addresses substantially all the harms alleged in the complaints. What's more, the agency
views the settlement as better than preserving the status quo, which is all that would have been achieved by winning the lawsuit in court.
The government said the legacy airlines operate as an oligopoly and have been tacitly coordinating. While that behavior is not illegal, it
has raised prices and reduced services for flyers.
The DOJ felt it had plenty of evidence from the previous mergers that even a few divestitures to low-cost carriers could make a dramatic
difference in the fares and flights available to consumers.
When United gave up all its slots at Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey as a condition of acquiring Continental,
Southwest acquired them, and fares out of the airport lowered dramatically, to some destinations as much as 50%. The number of seats
available also increased; to some destinations availability doubled. The DOJ measured the same phenomenon when JetBlue began
leasing 8 American slots at Reagan National in 2010.
This time around the DOJ expects even more substantial benefit for flyers. Because the divestitures are at key airports that happened to
be capacity constrained the added competition will come not only from the point-point flights directly out of those airports but from
one-stops that will originate from them too. Chicago O'Hare International Airport, Los Angeles International Airport and New York's
LaGuardia Airport are all airports the low-cost carriers want to fly out of but have been denied access.
The airlines disagree with the allegations made against their merger and complain they paid a higher price to the government than they
feel was warranted. US Airways and American feel they are bearing the brunt for the DOJ's regret over earlier approvals of the
United/Continental and Delta/Northwest deals.
They say the DOJ is now restructuring the industry, and the last of the legacy carriers to the merger game are paying much of the cost
for the whole industry's perceived sins.
American Airlines Inc.
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Recent News
Avigilon snags VideoIQ for $32 million
Updated Fri Jan 03 15:20:02 EST 2014 ET
In its latest move to bolster its surveillance capabilities, Vancouver-based Avigilon Corp. has agreed to acquire video analytics company
VideoIQ Inc. The digital video surveillance company said on Dec. 31 that it would pay $32 million in cash for VideoIQ. The deal is
expected to be completed in early January. "The acquisition will give us sophisticated, commercially proven analytics technology
supported by one of the leading analytics development teams in the industry," Avigilon CEO Alexander Fernandes said in a statement.
VideoIQ, of Billerica, Mass., provides real-time protection technology to various blue-chip customers including Coca-Cola Co.,
American Airlines Inc., Toyota Motor Corp. and General Electric Co. Avigilon tapped GMP Securities LP for financial advice on the
transaction, while VideoIQ retained Raymond James & Associates Inc. as financial adviser. Avigilon closed a bought deal offering on
Nov. 26, gaining total proceeds of about $69 million that it said would be used to back potential acquisitions as well as for other general
corporate purposes. It last bought privately-held RedCloud Security Inc., which offers web-based, physical and virtual access control
services, for $17 million in cash on May 30. — Sarah Pringle
American Airlines Inc.
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