Dan’s Tech-n-Stuff Weblog

Delta and Northwest Airlines have announced that they intend to merge in a deal worth more than $3 billion, making the combined Delta-Northwest the largest airline in the world.

Delta will acquire Northwest in an all-stock swap with Northwest shareholders to receive 1.25 Delta shares per share of Northwest, a roughly 17-percent premium over Northwest’s closing share price of $11.22 per share.

This news could speed up another possible merger in the airlines industry between Continental Airlines and United Airlines.

The deal will combine Delta’s strong Atlanta hub with Northwest’s extensive Asian presence including a hub in Tokyo.

There are no plans for any hubs to close, but airline consultant Robert Mann believes that while it would be nice if that were to happen it could be tricky for Delta to pull it off.

Pilots for Northwest oppose the deal and “the NWA MEC will use all resources available to aggressively oppose the merger.”

Sooo…I guess it’s not quite a done deal just yet.

[Via Reuters]