Alaska Air Group Inc. has agreed to buy rival Hawaiian Holdings Inc. in a $1.9 billion cash and debt deal, challenging the Biden administration’s aggressive stance on mergers that has already derailed a partnership between the carriers .
Alaska will pay $18 a share in cash in the deal that includes Hawaiian’s approximately $900 million in debt, according to a statement Sunday. The offer is a significant premium to Hawaiian Holdings’ closing share price of $4.86 on Friday.
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The deal could provide a valuable lifeline to Hawaiian, whose stock has fallen more than 52% this year. The slow return of tourism between Asia and Hawaii after the pandemic and Southwest Airlines Co.’s surge in growth in the Hawaii-to-mainland U.S. market have hurt the company. Alaska Air Group will be the parent holding company with Alaska. The airlines and Hawaiian Airlines continue to operate under their own separate brands.
Alaska is making the acquisition despite the Justice Department filing a record number of challenges to corporate combinations last year and a pending antitrust challenge to a separate airline deal. Spirit Airlines Inc. was acquired by JetBlue Airways Corp. A federal antitrust lawsuit over its $3.8 billion cash acquisition is about to end.
“We believe the facts will prevail that this is pro-competitive and pro-consumers,” Alaska Chief Financial Officer Shane Tackett said in an interview. Alaska and Hawaiian Airlines overlap on 12 routes, or 3% of their total seats, he said. “They are very complementary businesses.”
Federal regulators earlier this year succeeded in breaking up the alliance in the northeastern US between JetBlue and American Airlines Group Inc. after a federal judge found that the partnership gave the carrier too much power in some markets and restricted fare increases and options. Harmed consumers by limiting.
Bloomberg Intelligence analysts George Ferguson and Francois Duflot wrote in a note that the deal “could improve fares, although increase complexity by adding long-haul operations from Hawaii to U.S. cities and Asia.” “The overlap appears to be limited, which improves the chances of approval.”
The total price tag of $1.9 billion is “very manageable” financially, Tackett said. “We feel very good about the price. We are achieving a market leadership position in the really attractive premium market in Hawaii,” he said.
The company would hold more than 50% of the Hawaiian market, which has $8 billion in annual revenue, he said, which persuaded Alaska to approach Hawaiian leadership about a combination earlier this year.
We did not believe it was necessary for our business, Tackett said. “What we saw was an opportunity to acquire a second center in Honolulu” that could eventually approach Seattle in annual revenue production.
This is not Alaska’s first experience with acquisitions. The carrier oversaw JetBlue in 2016 to acquire Virgin America Inc. for $2.6 billion in cash in a move to expand consolidation across the industry. Current Alaska CEO Ben Minicucci oversaw Virgin America’s operations while the two carriers jointly helped prepare them for the latest effort. The nearly 20-year Alaska veteran was named CEO in 2021.
According to a profile at the time, the former member of the Canadian Armed Forces practices transcendental meditation twice daily and says Hawaii is his favorite place.
According to the statement, the combination with Hawaiian will increase Alaska’s earnings within two years of closing and result in annual run-rate savings of $235 million.
The acquisition has been approved by the boards of both airlines and still requires approval from Hawaiian Holdings’ shareholders and regulators. The carriers said it is expected to close in 12 to 18 months.