Pursuits
‘Cowboy’ Code Name Masked Southwest in Talks to Acquire AirTran
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Southwest Airlines Co. Chief Executive Officer Gary Kelly set in motion the largest purchase in the carrier’s 39-year history by setting up a meeting that he thought might backfire.
His conversation with AirTran Holdings Inc. CEO Bob Fornaro in a suburban Dallas hotel in May began five months of talks that ended in the Sept. 27 announcement that Southwest would buy the company for $1.4 billion in cash and stock. Fornaro came expecting to discuss a marketing alliance, Kelly said.