Is Southwest Airlines The Next Merger Target? | Aero-News Network
Aero-News Network
RSS icon RSS feed
podcast icon MP3 podcast
Subscribe Aero-News e-mail Newsletter Subscribe

Airborne Unlimited -- Most Recent Daily Episodes

Episode Date

Airborne-Monday

Airborne-Tuesday

Airborne-Wednesday Airborne-Thursday

Airborne-Friday

Airborne On YouTube

Airborne-Unlimited-07.07.25

Airborne-NextGen-07.08.25

AirborneUnlimited-07.09.25

Airborne-FlightTraining-07.10.25

AirborneUnlimited-07.11.25

Fri, Apr 20, 2007

Is Southwest Airlines The Next Merger Target?

First Talk Of Assigned Seating, Now This...

Is Southwest Airlines poised to become the latest airline in play for a leveraged buyout? One analyst believes the time -- and Southwest -- is ripe for the picking.

Reuters reports CreditSights analyst Roger King projects a possible market value of $15 billion for the low-cost airline, which is currently the largest American airline by market share.

That price works out to about $20 per share, roughly $4.50 higher than its stock closed at Wednesday... in a scenario King calls  "a no-brainer in the current financial market.

"Airlines are in play all over the place," King adds. He cites Southwest's "a multiyear fuel hedge portfolio, billions in unencumbered aircraft values, a significant 737 order book, excellent long-term operational and financial trends, industry tailwinds and upside potential as temptations" as reasons the carrier is an attractive merger candidate.

Admittedly, King concedes, there's one fly in the ointment: such a buyout flies in the face of the airline's corporate culture.

"[Southwest Chairman] Herb Kelleher does not even have a grave to spin in yet," he said.

Southwest CEO Gary Kelly agrees. "I don't think it makes any sense to leverage $9 billion of additional debt on an airline like Southwest," he said in an interview Thursday on the CNBC financial news channel.

Still, stranger things have happened... after all, who would have thought some other airlines would ever post profits again?

FMI: www.southwest.com, www.creditsights.com

Advertisement

More News

NTSB Final Report: Aviat A1

Airplane Bounced About 3 Ft Then Touched Back Down And Then, With No Brakes Applied, The Airplane Began Veering To The Left Analysis: The pilot entered the airport traffic pattern >[...]

ANN's Daily Aero-Linx (07.08.25)

Aero Linx: British Microlight Aircraft Association (BMAA) The primary focus within all aviation activity is SAFETY. In all aspects of our sport SAFETY must come first, whether it b>[...]

Classic Aero-TV: Fly Corvair’s Reliable Engine Alternative

From SnF25 (YouTube Edition): William Wynne Builds Practical Aircraft Engines on the Corvair Platform Seeking an affordable alternative to the traditional aircraft engine options, >[...]

ANN FAQ: Contributing To Aero-TV

How To Get A Story On Aero-TV News/Feature Programming How do I submit a story idea or lead to Aero-TV? If you would like to submit a story idea or lead, please contact Jim Campbel>[...]

Classic Aero-TV: CiES Fuel-Quantity and e-Throttle Systems Praised

From 2023 (YouTube Edition): Bridge of CiES CiES Inc. is a Bend, Oregon-based designer and manufacturer of modular embedded aircraft systems and sensors. The company’s fuel-l>[...]

blog comments powered by Disqus



Advertisement

Advertisement

Podcasts

Advertisement

© 2007 - 2025 Web Development & Design by Pauli Systems, LC