US Airways Shareholders Approve Merger With American Airlines

(RTTNews) - US Airways Group Inc. (NYSE: LCC) shareholders on Friday approved the carrier's pending merger with AMR Corp.'s (AAMRQ.OB) American Airlines Inc., moving a step closer to becoming the world's largest airline.

The merger was backed by over 99 percent of shares voted at the company's annual meeting in New York. US Airways said of the 132.8 million shares voted, 132.3 million were in favor of the merger, while 0.26 million shares voted against and 0.26 million abstained.

US Airways Chief Executive Doug Parker said, "We are pleased that our shareholders overwhelmingly supported our merger with American Airlines. This approval is a major milestone on our path to completing the merger, and we continue to make excellent progress overall thanks to the focused efforts of the dedicated representatives from both companies."

In February, American Airlines and US Airways had announced a $11 billion-deal to create the world's largest airline. US Airways shareholders will own 28 percent of the combined company, while the remaining stake will be held by stakeholders of AMR and its debtor subsidiaries.

Meanwhile, the deal is still subject to regulatory approvals and confirmation of AMR's Plan of Reorganization by the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York. Both companies expect to complete merger in the third quarter of 2013.

LCC is currently trading at $17.61, up $0.24 or 1.40%, on the NYSE.

AMR Corp. is currently trading at $4.91, up $0.06 or 1.24%, on the OTC markets.