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What am I missing - foreign ownership?? This is a merger not an acquisition.
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Merger- the combination of two (or more) firms into a single firm.
Straight out of my economics book from college ( I know I received a degree in business for something
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A merger is where assets are joined. A partnership is a whole different thing. Northwest and KLM have had a partnership for years. They share interests but not assets. I don't think it would be in either of the airlines interests to merge with each other. AA can't handle any more debt and why would BA want to join the fun and festivities of the airline debauchles on this side of the Atlantic.
A partnership may not be that bad of an idea. Try to share some of the Atlantic routes.