M&A Deal Summary

Southwest Acquires ATA Airlines

On December 21, 2008, Southwest acquired airliner ATA Airlines for 8M USD

Acquisition Highlights
  • This is Southwest’s 2nd transaction in the Airlines sector.
  • This is Southwest’s 4th largest (disclosed) transaction.
  • This is Southwest’s 3rd transaction in the United States.
  • This is Southwest’s 1st transaction in Indiana.

M&A Deal Summary

Date 2008-12-21
Target ATA Airlines
Sector Airlines
Buyer(s) Southwest
Deal Type Special Situations/Distressed
Deal Value 8M USD

Target

ATA Airlines

Indianapolis, Indiana, United States
ATA Airlines was a discount airline that operated primarily in the East Coast of the US. It was formed in 1973 and went bankrupt in 2008.

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Buyer(S) 1

Buyer

Southwest

Dallas, Texas, United States

Category Company
Founded 1967
Sector Airlines
Employees74,081
Revenue 26.1B USD (2023)
DESCRIPTION
Entrance to Southwest's corporate headquarters in Dallas, Texas.
Entrance to Southwest's corporate headquarters in Dallas, Texas.

Southwest is a discount airline serving the US market. Southwest serves more then 100 destinations in 40+ states, the District of Columbia, the Puerto Rico, and five near-international countries via wholly owned subsidiary, AirTran Airways. Southwest was formed in 1967 and is based in Dallas, Texas.


DEAL STATS #
Overall 3 of 5
Sector (Airlines) 2 of 3
Type (Special Situations/Distressed) 1 of 1
State (Indiana) 1 of 1
Country (United States) 3 of 5
Year (2008) 1 of 1
Size (of disclosed) 4 of 4
PREVIOUS DEAL
DATE TARGET DEAL TYPE VALUE
1993-12-01 Morris Air

Salt Lake City, Utah, United States

Morris Air was a regional discount airline based in the Western United States.

Buy $134M
FOLLOWING DEAL
DATE TARGET DEAL TYPE VALUE
2010-09-27 AirTran Airways

Orlando, Florida, United States

AirTran Airways is a discount airline operating in the US.

Buy $1.4B