Southwest Airlines to buy AirTran

Low cost airline AirTran Airways announced that it has entered into a definitive merger agreement to be acquired by Southwest Airlines in a transaction currently valued at more than $1.37 billion.

Based on Southwest Airlines' closing share price as of September 24, 2010, the value of the merger consideration would be $7.69 per AirTran share. This represents a 69 percent premium over the September 24, 2010, closing price of AirTran stock.

The acquisition of AirTran Airways by Southwest Airlines will bring together two popular companies and create one even stronger low-cost carrier. The two airlines currently serve 106 communities from coast-to-coast, Mexico and the Caribbean, with 685 Boeings and nearly 43 000 employees.

Source: airtran.com