United and Continental flirt with merger

[babylonsister]

http://money.cnn.com/2006/12/13/news/companies/united_continental_merger/

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- UAL's United Airlines is in preliminary talks with Continental Airlines about a possible merger, according to media reports.

Any deal between the two carriers would likely be one of the largest in the industry and create one of the world's top 10 airlines.

UAL and Continental are in preliminary merger talks, according to published reports.

A month ago, US Airways (Charts) made an $8.7 billion takeover bid for rival Delta (Charts), raising expectations of consolidation in an industry struggling with high fuel prices and competition from discount carriers.

Talks between Continental and United, which each have market value of about $4 billion, picked up pace after US Airways made the offer last month, The New York Times reported on its Web site on Tuesday, citing unnamed sources.

The two airlines have been in talks for several months, the Wall Street Journal said in a report on its Web site, also citing unnamed sources.

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