Top Shareholder Urges Midwest To 'Seriously Engage' AirTran's Offer

Octavian Management LLC, the top shareholder of Midwest Air Group Inc., has urged the company's management in a recent letter to engage in serious negotiations with AirTran Holdings Inc. who made a $389 million bid for Midwest last October. Octavian, a hedge fund with a 7.5% stake in Midwest, is upset the company's management has repeatedly rejected AirTran's sweetened bids, despite shareholders recently electing three directors sympathetic to AirTran to the company's nine-member board. In a letter dated July 18, Octavian CEO Richard Hurowitz told Midwest's Chairman and CEO Tim Hoeksema that it was "irresponsible and wrong for the company not to abide by its fiduciary responsibility to engage with AirTran" in serious negotiations. Midwest's shares rose 2.56% in composite trading Monday while AirTran's shares fell 0.19%.

Sources: Wall Street Journal, AP, Reuters
Commentary: 21 Airline Stocks to Keep You Flying High This Summer • Midwest Air /AirTran Merger Update • Midwest Air: Octavian Would Support Higher Offer From AirTran
Stocks/ETFs to watch: Midwest Air Group, Inc. (MEH), AirTran Holdings, Inc. (AAI). Competitors: Southwest Airlines Co. (LUV), UAL Corp. (UAUA), Northwest Airlines (NWA). Delta (DAL), Continental (CAL)

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