In intraday trading on Wednesday, shares of Hawaiian Holdings (HA) shot up 6% as the parent company of Hawaiian Airlines consented to extend the period for the U.S. Department of Justice to assess its planned acquisition by Alaska Air Group (ALK).
According to a Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filing, Hawaiian and Alaska Air stated that they “continue to cooperate” with the DOJ during the review process. The review deadline was extended by 24 hours to 12:01 a.m. ET on Friday.
The $1.9 billion acquisition has been delayed since the DOJ first asked for more information in February to evaluate the merger’s potential antitrust ramifications. At the time of the announcement of the deal in December, Hawaiian shares had nearly tripled in value.
The merger was initially scheduled to expire on August 5, but the parties indicated in May that they had “certified substantial compliance” with the requirements, starting a 90-day review period. The evaluation time has already been extended twice: once to August 15 and once more to Friday after the corporations reached an agreement to do so.
The Biden administration has been particularly suspicious of mergers in the aviation sector, citing worries that certain major carriers have grown too strong and are robbing customers of choices. JetBlue Airways (JBLU) and Spirit Airlines (SAVE) cancelled their merger earlier this year as a result of antitrust probes and lawsuits.
As of 10:45 a.m. ET on Wednesday, Hawaiian shares increased 6.3% to $14.94, while Alaska Airlines shares decreased 1.2% to $35.05.
