US: Airline merger passes penultimate hurdle

By CPI | July 27, 2016

The chairman of Virgin America announced on July 26 that stockholders in Virgin America approved the acquisition of their airline by Alaska Airlines.

The vote cleared the next-to-last major hurdle for the airline takeover with only U.S. Justice Department approval remaining.

In April, Seattle-based Alaska Air beat out competitors in a bidding war for its smaller, San Francisco-based rival with an offer of $2.6 billion.

Alaska Airlines and Virgin America’s leaders both say they expect the deal to close by the end of this year.

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