Investing.com — United Airlines had reportedly approached Delta Air Lines last year about a potential merger between the two carriers
United Chief Executive Scott Kirby called Delta CEO Ed Bastian as part of the pitch, the Wall Street Journal reported on Sunday citing people familiar with the matter.
Delta leaders discussed the approach and examined the merits of a potential deal during preliminary due diligence, however, the discussions did not advance and both companies moved on from the proposal.
Kirby later attempted to engage in merger talks with American Airlines, which was rejected by the American.
United and Delta are among four major carriers that dominate the U.S. airline industry following a series of mergers over the past two decades. Industry officials have long believed that any merger between those carriers would face antitrust concerns.
The previously unreported approaches underscore how some of the biggest U.S. airlines were exploring transformative consolidation amid expectations that the Trump administration could adopt a more permissive stance on mergers. Any tie-up between United and either Delta or American, however, would have created an unprecedented concentration of market share and almost certainly triggered intense antitrust scrutiny from federal regulators and state officials.
Business leaders in many industries were hopeful that large deals might be achievable during the second Trump administration, however the economic uncertainty and increased scrutiny of on major deals has made it difficult for companies to explore mergers and acquisition.
