Digest
US Airways ends merger talks with United Airlines
|
TOOLBOX
   Resize
|
AIRLINES
US Airways ends merger talks with United
US Airways Group said Thursday that it has ended talks with United Airlines about a merger. The announcement came after word that the carriers had exchanged financial information as a prelude to a possible combination.
A deal would create the world's largest airline, surpassing Delta Air Lines.
US Airways previously combined with America West and made a hostile bid for Delta while it was managing a bankruptcy.
Among U.S. carriers ranked by passenger traffic, United is third, Continental fourth and US Airways sixth, just behind Southwest Airlines.
-- Associated Press
MERGERS & ACQUISITIONS
CenturyTel to buy Qwest for $10.6 billion
CenturyTel, the country's fifth-largest local phone company, announced that it will buy Qwest Communications International, the third-largest, in a stock swap worth $10.6 billion.
The combined company would have about 17 million phone lines serving customers in 37 states, but it would still be dwarfed by AT&T and Verizon Communications.
The firms hope the acquisition can make them more competitive while expanding the reach of their broadband Internet service. CenturyTel chief executive Glen Post would head the combined company. The acquisition would likely add to ongoing job cuts at both firms.
