US Airways CEO Doug Parker Hopes AA Merger Will Still Close in 2013
Skift Take
Today marks the beginning of what is expected to be extensive haggling between American, US Airways, and the DOJ. With enough concessions, the airlines still have a shot at completing their merger.
We did not expect American Airlines or US Airways to go down without a fight.
In the first public announcement since news broke that the U.S. Justice Department filed a lawsuit to block the merger, American and U.S. Airways say they intend to wage a "vigorous and strong defense" against the anti-trust suit.
US Airways CEO Doug Parker wrote in a letter to employees that he no longer expects the merger to close in the third quarter, but he remains hopeful that the litigation will be resolved and that the merger will still be completed in 2013.
Parker notes that other companies have experienced similar setbacks, but have gone on to complete their mergers. The full letter from Parker is below:
[gview file="https://skift.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/08.13.13-DOJ-block-Doug-letter-USNN.pdf"]
Additional links on today's merger setback:
» 8 Reasons Why U.S. Government Wants to Block American-
