Airlines Appeal To Midwest Shareholders

The battle being waged between Delta Air Lines and US Airways over a hostile takeover bid is also playing out between rivals AirTran and Midwest Airlines... albeit on a smaller scale.

On Thursday, AirTran upped its offer to acquire Midwest to $345 million. This, after the Milwaukee-based carrier flatly refused AirTran's earlier $290 million deal last month.

This time around, AirTran performed an end-run around the board at Midwest that rejected its previous offer. The carrier appealed directly to Midwest shareholders, touting the 61-percent premium over the current 30-day average closing price for Midwest stock its proposal offers them.

"You gave us no choice but to bring our offer directly to the owners of the company," AirTran CEO Joseph Leonard wrote in a letter to Midwest's board. "We are willing to take this step because we fully believe that a combined AirTran and Midwest ... will generate the value needed to justify our increased offer."

That offer likely raised a few eyebrows among Midwest shareholders... a fact the airline is well aware of. Midwest Airlines executives announced this week plans to add more routes, and update its fleet.

FMI: www.airtran.com, www.midwestairlines.com