NATIONAL BRIEFING
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AIRLINES
Delta Taps $1 Billion Credit Line
Delta Air Lines drew on a $1 billion revolving credit line to boost its cash holdings as it prepares to acquire Northwest Airlines by year's end, Chief Financial Officer Ed Bastian said in a memo to employees.
Delta also extended a credit card processing agreement with Visa and MasterCard to 2011. The accord was set to expire in October, and IT doesn't require cash holdbacks or collateral.
Overseas Airfares Jump
International airfares reached the highest levels in at least nine years in the second quarter as carriers raised prices to blunt record fuel costs, American Express Business Travel said.
Average one-way tickets for overseas flights from North America rose 11 percent, to $1,980, from a year earlier, the travel-services company said. That's the top price since American Express Business Travel began monitoring fares in 1999.
Domestic tickets climbed 10 percent, to $260, from 12 months earlier, the highest since 2001, American Express Business Travel said.
MERGERS & ACQUISITIONS
Canadian Firm to Buy Grey Wolf
Canada's Precision Drilling Trust said it would buy Houston gas driller Grey Wolf in a cash-and-stock deal worth more than $2 billion. Under the agreement, Precision Drilling will pay $1.12 billion in cash and 42 million shares valued at $896.7 million, based on Friday's closing stock price.
The deal gives Precision access to land operations in virtually every oil and gas basin in the lower 48 United States and Canada, and an emerging presence in Mexico.
Broadcom to Buy AMD Division
Advanced Micro Devices will sell its unit that makes chips for digital TV sets to fellow chipmaker Broadcom for $192.8 million in cash, the companies announced yesterday.
AMD is selling the unit as part of a program to reduce debt and improve profitability, said Dirk Meyer, president and chief executive. The company is a distant second to Intel in its main market of computer processors, and competition has intensified.
The companies expect the deal to close by the end of the year. The AMD Unit has about 530 employees. They will be invited to join Broadcom.
