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Empresas y finanzas

Southwest to buy AirTran for $1.04 billion


    Bangalore (Reuters) - Southwest Airlines said it would acquire AirTran Holdings Inc for about $1.04 billion in cash and stock to beef up its regional and low-fare services.

    Southwest will buy AirTran for $7.69 a share, a premium of 69 percent to AirTran's Friday closing price. The deal comprises $3.75 a share in cash and 0.321 in Southwest's shares for each Airtran share.

    Including AirTran's existing net indebtedness and capitalized aircraft operating leases, the transaction value is about $3.4 billion, Southwest said in a statement.

    The airline industry is seeing a wave of consolidation as it recovers from a surge in oil prices and a drop in air travel due to the recession.

    In May, United parent UAL Corp announced the acquisition of Continental Airlines for $3.17 billion in an all-stock deal.

    Southwest said excluding the impact of one-time costs, the acquisition is expected to add to its pro-forma earnings per share in the first year after the closing of the deal.

    AirTran shares jumped 67 percent to $7.60 in pre-market trade on the New York Stock Exchange. Southwest was trading down slightly at $12.19.

    (Reporting by A.Ananthalakshmi in Bangalore; Editing by Saumyadeb Chakrabarty)