Goldman Sachs, British Airways Eye AMR Corp. -- Business Week

BusinessWeek reports in its Feb. 26 issue that AMR Corp., parent of American Airlines, is a buyout target of a group including Goldman Sachs and British Airways, according to people familiar with the matter. The proposed bid is between $46 and $52 a share ($9.8-$11.1 billion). AMR now trades at $38.57 ($8.2b). Foreign carriers may own up to a 25% stake in U.S. carriers. None of the companies would comment on the speculation. But an AMR spokesman said, "We talk to lots of people, but until discussions result in anything of substance, we simply do not comment." Update: Reuters news, quoting "sources familiar with the matter," says BAB and GS have no plans to bid for AMR Corp. The stock initially climbed 11% to a to a 6-year high. Following the no-deal report, it backed off and is up 5% to $40 in pre-market trading.

Sources: BusinessWeek, MarketWatch, Reuters I, II
Commentary: Merger Mania Grips the Airlines • Opportunity in Airlines, But Not For the Fainthearted • Someone's Going to Fly with Airline Stocks
Stocks/ETFs to watch:AMR Corp. (AMR), Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS), British Airways plc (BAB)

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