Morrison & Foerster represented AirTran Airways in connection with the antitrust aspects of its $1.4 billion deal to be acquired by Southwest Airlines. The U.S. Department of Justice announced on April 26, 2011 that it has closed its investigation of the competitive effects of the transaction and concluded that the transaction will not harm competition. The transaction is by far the largest of its kind for Southwest and will create the fourth largest U.S. airline by combining two of the leading low-cost carriers. The acquisition price provides a 69% premium for AirTran shareholders.
The antitrust team was led by partner Roger Fones and includes partners Bradley Lui, Jonathan Gowdy, Jeff Jaeckel, and Kristin Yohannan, Of Counsel Aki Bayz, and associates Adam Eltoukhy, Karen Escalante, David Scannell, Tihua Huang, Mike Sachdev, and Josh Hartman.