Northwest and Delta Are to Revive Their Merger Talks before Pilots Reach Agreement

(NewsVisual, powered by IntellectSpace) -- Despite the failure of their two airlines’ pilot unions to reach an agreement, The New York Times reported that the talks between Delta Air Lines Inc (NYSE:DAL) and Northwest Airlines Corp (NYSE:NWA) to discuss their plan to merge might be about to begin again.

"Merging without the approval of pilots could anger the airlines’ most powerful work group and make it difficult to run a combined airline efficiently. But the threat might help push the pilots back into negotiations," The Times article reported.

Given the delicacy of the issues involved, the personal connections between the two airlines could be a key factor in determining whether the negotiations are successful.

NewsVisual decided to create an IntellectSpace Knowledge Map in order to illustrate the personal connections between the two companies.

Can the Leadership of Delta and Northwest Help the Pilots’ Unions Reach an Agreement?

(NewsVisual, powered by IntellectSpace) -- The Delta Air Lines Inc (NYSE: DAL) and Northwest Airlines Corp (NYSE: NWA) plan to merge, which would instantly create the country’s largest airline, encountered a major setback when the companies’ two pilots’ unions failed to agree on common standards for measuring their pilots’ seniority when the new company is established, The New York Times reported in an article on Tuesday.

Although Delta and Northwest offered their pilots a series of incentives, including stock in the new company, the unions’ talks still faltered and remained deadlocked after weeks of intense negotiations, The Times reported.

The ball is now in the court of the two companies’ Senior Managers and Boards of Directors to find some resolution to the pilots’ impasse so that the merger can have a chance of proceeding smoothly.

Could THQ be Next in Line for a Deal?

(NewsVisual, powered by IntellectSpace )-- THQ Interactive (NASDAQ: THQI) could be the next target of a tech industry takeover, thanks to the recent moves for consolidation by Electronic Arts, Activision, Vivendi and Microsoft.

The New York Times DealBook took a stab at predicting another company that could soon be receiving deal offers, naming video-game publisher THQ as the next likely candidate. Investors clearly had similar ideas for THQ, boosting the price of shares nearly 10 percent in late-morning trading.

Potential buyers named include Walt Disney and Viacom, though official word has yet to be made from any of the predicted parties.

An IntellectSpace Knowledge Map created by NewsVisual sheds some light into the Management Team at THQ, whose corporate connections could go far in securing a deal.

Nearly every Director at THQ is shown to have multiple ties through past and present corporate leadership experience to various industries. Henry T DeNero has held executive positions at companies that include FirstData and Target-predecessor Dayton Hudson, and he currently is a Director a number of companies, such as Banta, Portal Player and Vignette. Also a Director at Portal Player is James L Whims, who has held past executive position TechFund Capital and Sony.

EA Makes a Bid for Take-Two with Strong Corporate Connections

(NewsVisual, powered by IntellectSpace)-- Electronic Arts Inc (NASDAQ: ERTS) made a $2 billion offer for Take-Two Interactive Software Inc (NASDAQ: TTWO), a move that would cut the competition between the video game publishers.

Yesterday EA announced that it was making the unsolicited cash bid of $26 a share for Take-Two, despite the rejection of last week’s takeover proposal. EA appears to be adamant about a deal and will likely continue to push for consolidation, especially considering that the merger of Activision Inc and Vivendi SA created an even greater rival with the birth of Activision Blizzard Inc.

When Delta and Northwest Merge, Anderson Becomes CEO and Steenland Gets Generous Exit Deal

(NewsVisual, powered by IntellectSpace )-- Despite the latest union-related hurdle in the merge between Delta Air Lines Inc (NYSE: DAL) and Northwest Airlines Corp (NYSE: NWA), the deal appears to be well on its way to approval.

In the event that the merger goes through, Richard Anderson, Delta’s current CEO, will likely become the head of the combined airline, instead of Northwest CEO Douglas Steenland.

As illustrated in this IntellectSpace Knowledge Map, Anderson would be the clear choice to lead operations after the merger, given the fact that he previously served as Northwest’s CEO. His experience at both airlines will likely do well to facilitate the transition once a deal is finalized.

Corporate Ties Between Delta and Northwest Likely Sparked Deal Talk

(NewsVisual, powered by IntellectSpace )-- As the anticipation of a merger between Delta Air Lines Inc (NYSE: DAL) and Northwest Airlines Corp (NYSE: NWA) grows, insiders are saying that a deal could be finalized before the week is out.

The past few months has seen speculation, rumors and predictions flying as to the need for consolidation in the US airline industry in order to stand up to international competition. A merger between Delta and Northwest would instantly create the country’s largest airline, and so it’s likely that domestic competitors such as United Airlines and American Airlines would quickly follow suit.

Continental May Be Eyeing AMR for a Merger

(NewsVisual, powered by IntellectSpace )—Continental Airlines Inc (NYSE: CAL) and American Airlines parent AMR Corp (NYSE: AMR) could be in the midst of merger talks, according to some insiders.

Delta Air Lines Inc (NYSE: DAL) and Northwest Airlines Corp (NYSE: NWA) are reportedly close to finalizing a deal, which may have sent Continental scrambling for a merger of its own. Though currently in preliminary talks with United Airlines parent UAL Corp, Continental may be looking into other options as it supposedly explored a partnership with AMR.

Competition between the U.S. airline industry and international rivals are heating up, and the only solution now to remain in the game is to consolidate.

Delta CEO Says No To Millions In Merger Compensation

(NewsVisual, powered by IntellectSpace )-- As Delta Airlines Inc (NYSE: DAL) and Northwest Airlines Corp (NYSE: NWA) creep ever closer to a merger, Delta CEO Richard Anderson has announced that he will waive the millions of dollars he would be entitled to if the deal goes through.

Delta is intent on finding a merger partner, and no doubt Anderson’s latest move conveys the airline’s conviction in making that happen. In the event of a merger, much of Anderson’s stock, initiatives and benefits compensation, up to $15 million over several years, would have been available to him immediately. After becoming CEO just last September, Anderson’s decision instills confidence in the board and investors that regardless of whether or not a deal goes through, he plan on continuing in his position with the company.

It’s Now Official: Microsoft Vows to Fight for Yahoo Buyout

(NewsVisual, powered by IntellectSpace) -- As the media reported that Yahoo was preparing for layoffs, Microsoft Corp (NASDAQ:MSFT) officially responded to the rejection of its $44.6 billion bid by Yahoo! Inc’s (NASDAQ:YHOO) Board of Directors and vowed to continue its efforts by taking the buyout offer directly to Yahoo’s shareholders.

Microsoft’s response came in the form of a press release posted on its website.

“It is unfortunate that Yahoo! has not embraced our full and fair proposal to combine our companies,” the statement says.

The company suggests that it’s already begun to lay the groundwork for a shareholder fight by suggesting that it’s been in contact with some of the parties:

Media Buzz Suggest that Microsoft Will Fight Yahoo’s Rebuff

Only hours after the Board of Directors of Yahoo Inc (NASDAQ: YHOO) announced its rejection of Microsoft Corp’s (NASDAQ: MSFT) $44.6 billion buyout bid, speculation began to mount in the business news media as to how the folks at Redmond would respond.

For example, the Financial Times reported that the Redmond software titan “is gearing up to take its bid to acquire Yahoo directly to the Silicon Valley company’s shareholders” (read the FT.com article by Chris Nuttall and Richard Waters ).

By mid-afternoon Monday, however, there was still no official word from Microsoft itself on how it would respond to Yahoo’s notice of rejection.

Microsoft’s share price was down from the previous close of $28.56 to $28.21 at the bell (4:00pm ET).

Could Yahoo Be Eyeing Time Warner After Rejecting Microsoft Bid?

(NewsVisual, powered by IntellectSpace )-- Yahoo Inc (NASDAQ: YHOO) may have rejected Microsoft Corp’s (NASDAQ: MSFT) unsolicited $44.6 billion takeover bid, but that doesn’t mean that another strategic partnership is out of the question, namely with Time Warner Inc (NYSE: TWX).

Claiming that Microsoft’s offer “substantially undervalues” Yahoo, the company is left with the opportunity to negotiate a better deal out of Microsoft or even another interested party. Insiders say that Yahoo may have reached out to Time Warner's AOL unit, a rumor that has yet to be confirmed by either company.

NewsVisual illustrated the connections to Time Warner that could help Yahoo land a deal with the creation of an IntellectSpace Knowledge Map. A number of direct connections combined with current relationships through common entities could soon lead to a partnership between Yahoo and Time Warner.

Delta And Northwest Are Poised To Announce Merger

(NewsVisual, powered by IntellectSpace )-- A merger may be just around the corner for Delta Air Lines Inc (NYSE: DAL) and Northwest Airlines Corp (NYSE: NWA) as buzz begins to circulate that a deal could be announced within two weeks.

Nearly a month ago Delta gave CEO Richard Anderson permission to open talks with both Northwest and UAL Corp (NASDAQ: UAUA), the parent of United Airlines, to consider merger. A successful deal would create the world’s largest passenger airline.

NewsVisual created an IntellectSpace Knowledge Map of the corporate ties linking Delta and Northwest that likely sparked discussion and could work further to facilitate a merger. The direct connections between the companies clearly illustrate why a deal could be a sure thing.

Connections Between Google and Yahoo Create Alliance Against Microsoft

(NewsVisual, powered by IntellectSpace )-- Google Inc (NASDAQ: GOOG) may be far from rivaling Microsoft Corp (NASDAQ: MSFT) in a takeover of Yahoo Inc (NASDAQ: YHOO), though that likely won’t stop the web giant from becoming deeply involved in the situation.

No counter offers have yet been made to challenge Microsoft’s unsolicited $44.6 billion bid for Yahoo, which could potentially make the deal a sure thing and boost Microsoft’s web presence as a serious competitor to Google. Due to regulatory concerns, it is doubtful that Google will make a competing offer,  however the company could be strategizing other manuevers to keep Microsoft from acquiring Yahoo.

In order to identify how the companies may be collaborating to challenge Microsoft, NewsVisual created an IntellectSpace Knowledge Map of the notable relationships held between key Directors and Executives at Yahoo and Google.

BHP Billiton Faces Deadline For Rio Tinto Bid

(NewsVisual, powered by IntellectSpace )-- The fate of Rio Tinto (NYSE: RTP) will be known Wednesday, the deadline for rival and the world’s largest mining company BHP Billiton to make a final decision about whether to pursue a merger.

What stands to be one of the corporate worlds biggest mergers could even increase in price from the present $127 billion bid before the deadline, thanks to a strategic investment in Rio Tinto from China. The bid inflation could stop BHP in its track, as well as the fear of upsetting China, which has opposed the deal and happens to be the company’s principal customer.

Will Yahoo’s New Chairman Push For A Deal With Microsoft?

(NewsVisual, powered by IntellectSpace )-- As Yahoo Inc (NASDAQ: YHOO) decides its next move in light of Friday’s $44.6 billion takeover offer from Microsoft Corp (NASDAQ: MSFT), the board may be relying heavily on the dealmaking expertise of new its new Chairman, Roy J Bostock.

After being appointed as Chairman of Yahoo on Thursday night, Bostock quickly had to jump into the responsibility of deciding how to responding to Microsoft's offer. Given his past experience in corporate takeovers and sales, the timing of Bostock’s appointment comes just in the nick of time.

An IntellectSpace Knowledge Map created by NewsVisual illustrates the past and current connections that make Bostock a valuable asset to Yahoo in this critical period. He is a Director at Northwest Airlines, which is currently in the middle of deal talks with Delta Airlines, and was also involved in leading companies that were eventually sold to become Bcom3.

Countrywide CEO Mozilo Gives up $37.5 Million Severance

(NewsVisual, powered by Intellectspace) -- Facing harsh criticism surrounding the credit crisis, Countrywide Financial Corporation (NYSE: CFC) CEO Angelo R Mozilo has agreed to forgo $37.5 million in severance pay and other fees that would reaped as a result of the mortgage lender’s impending sale to Bank of America (NYSE: BAC).

Losses, defaults and lawsuits have Countrywide struggling, though the company’s fall hasn’t stopped Mozilo from being ranked as one of the highest paid US executives. The dismal status of Countrywide has led many in the political realm, including US presidential candidate Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton to publicly question Mozilo’s hefty salary.

An IntellectSpace Knowledge Map offers insight into Mozilo’s past and present, through his noteworthy roles as a corporate executive and his ties to non-corporate entities. In addition to the success he has reaped at Countrywide, which he founded in 1969 and has since built to become a major global enterprise, Mozilo was the President and Vice Chairman of Indymac Bancorp, and until recently he was a Director for Home Depot Inc.

Delta May Take Advantage of Connections to Northwest and United in Pursuing a Speedy Merger

Will it be Northwest or United? That seems to be the question on everyone’s mind as Delta Airlines Inc begins its talks with Northwest Airlines Corp and UAL Corp, the parent of United Airlines, to negotiate a merger agreement. Delta CEO Richard Anderson was given permission by the company’s board on Friday to pursue a deal in the hopes that a merger would be the trick to succeeding in the industry, especially considering the recent spikes in fuel prices (see article from The Wall Street Journal).

Direct Connections May Have Motivated Delta and Northwest Merger Buzz

Merger rumors may finally be confirmed today as the Board of Directors for Delta Airlines Inc is expected to give permission to its CEO to pursue a deal, most likely with Northwest Airlines Corp or UAL Corp (parent of United Airlines). A partnership such as this is thought to be motivated by the need to overcome the recent record-high fuel prices and other industry hurdles. Many are hoping that the boost a merger would give to the industry will allow for the focus to shift back to improving service quality for consumers as opposed to simply trying to stay in business (see article by Beth Gaston Moon in BloggingBuyouts).

Revisiting Merger Buzz Between Sirius and XM with Common Connections

Though Sirius Satellite Radio was able to end the year with a 38% increase in subscribers, analysts can’t help but question whether or not greater success would be seen with the approval of the company’s attempts at merging with XM Satellite Radio. Not much faith is being put in Sirius’ viability as a stand-alone company, leading once again to speculation that a merger with XM could still be sought after (see article by Douglas McIntyre in BloggingStocks).

Federal regulators have been quick to reject such a deal on the grounds that it would create a monopoly that would increase consumer costs and reduce competition. Through the creation of an IntellectSpace Knowledge Map, NewsVisual investigated the connections that could be preventing Sirius and XM from giving up on a deal so easily.

Could Social Network Lead to Merger Between Citigroup and JPMorgan?

Analysts have been having some fun lately with by coming up with hypothetical mergers between major corporate rivals (see November 28 article from NewsVisual). A potential deal that is generating some serious buzz would bring Citigroup and JPMorgan Chase together (see article from BloggingStocks). The consensus seems to be that while a merger between the companies would be complicated given the size of Citi and JPMorgan, a partnership could bring about considerable positive results. NewsVisual decided to take a look at how common connections could become a factor in bringing the two together (Note: the information contained and presented in Knowledge Maps is public information from the Securities and Exchange Commission of the United States of America).

Common Connections May Factor Into Merger Buzz Between Bank of America and Citi

Could two rival financial giants be heading toward a merger? Though Bank of America denies making any official offers, the Wall Street Journal claims that Citigroup received and quickly rejected the suggestion of a merger between the two, which supposedly was introduced by a “prominent investment banker” (see article by Robin Sidel, Karen Richardsen and David Enrich). While a merger could be good at this point in helping Citi strengthen its leadership team, the large size of the banks could make such a deal extremely complicated.

Despite the complexities, NewsVisual created an IntellectSpace Knowledge Map of the common connections between Bank of America and Citigroup to discover what relationships could be significant in motivating a merger. (Note: the information contained and presented in Knowledge Maps is public information from the Securities and Exchange Commission of the United States of America).

Could Merrill Lynch and Wachovia Really Pull Off a Merger?

The banking world was stunned this morning when rumors surfaced that Merrill Lynch CEO Stanley O’Neal had approached Charlotte, NC-based Wachovia about a possible merger. Even more surprising is that supposedly Mr. O’Neal approached Wachovia without approval from the Board of Directors at Merrill Lynch ( see Zac Bissonnette’s article from Bloggingstocks.com). Although many analysts have stated that they do not believe a merger is in the works, we here at IntellectSpace were curious as to whether or not Merrill Lynch and Wachovia had corporate ties that could play a role in a least feeling out a merger. We created a Knowledge Map to examine these ties and found some very interesting connections between Merrill Lynch and Wachovia (Note: the information contained and presented in Knowledge Maps is public information from the Securities and Exchange Commission of the United States of America).

Common Ties Could Open Up Initial Negotiations in AT&T – Echostar Deal

Will global telecommunications giant AT&T acquire Echostar? There seems to be a good chance according to Citigroup analyst Jason Bazinet. Bazinet told investors today that the recent strength in Echostar shares is likely due to the possibility of a merger with AT&T (see article from Seeking Alpha). This comes after rumors of a possible merger between Echostar and DirecTV Group. We created two IntellectSpace Knowledge Maps of the corporate ties Echostar shares with AT&T and DirecTV to determine if these ties could play an influential role in any possible merger (Note: the information contained and presented in Knowledge Maps is public information from the Securities and Exchange Commission of the United States of America).

Deals May Follow Thanks to Success of Google and DoubleClick; Coors and SABMiller

With the merger of Coors and SABMiller and Google’s controversial acquisition of DoubleClick, analysts are saying that now may be the time to move forward with any other deals that would normally raise antitrust red flags. Wall Street Journal’s DealJournal created a list of potential corporate combinations to take advantage of this trend, and NewsVisual decided to it one step further to see how common connections could push for an actual agreement.

Is a Merger Between Cadbury Schweppes and Hershey’s in the Making?

Could a merger between Cadbury Schweppes, the largest confectionary business in the world, and Hershey’s, the largest chocolate maker in North America, be in the works? It’s a distinct possibility according to the latest news from Seeking Alpha. Hershey’s Trust, which controls around one-third of the equity but about two-thirds of the of the vote at Hershey’s Co, has announced that it is not satisfied with the company’s performance and is looking for ways to improve it. One way that has been discussed is a merger with Cadbury Schweppes. According to Seeking Alpha, it seems that both companies have already met to discuss such a deal. We created an IntellectSpace Knowledge Map to determine if any shared corporate ties could play a possible role, at least in the early stages of negotiations, should a merger occur. After reviewing the Knowledge Map we find strong ties through VF Corp, Kraft Foods Inc, and Humberto Alfonso, who has employment experience at both companies.

CEO Ties Could Prove Beneficial in Possible Northwest-Delta Deal

Delta Air Lines CEO Richard Anderson could prove to be the key factor as rumors of a merger with Northwest Airlines Corp appeared in the news. Shares of Northwest jumped on Thursday after Merrill Lynch tagged the airline with a buy rating, saying the carrier had achieved a “competitive cost structure as a result of its successful bankruptcy restructuring.” (see article from MarketWatch.com). Bear Stearns Analyst Frank Boroch also suggested that merger rumors between Northwest and Delta could pick up again. Mr. Boroch also noted that Delta CEO Richard Anderson was Northwest’s CEO and worked closely with current CEO Douglas Steenland (see article from DealBook). To determine if other strong connections existed that could play a role in any possible merger, we constructed this IntellectSpace Knowledge Map of the ties between Northwest and Delta.

Notable Ties Precede Rumored Merger of Sprint-Nextel and Verizon

Could a merger be in the cards for Sprint-Nextel and Verizon in the near future? Some analysts certainly hope so as Sprint experiences further pressure from activist investor Ralph Whitworth (see article from Theflyonthewall). Though the acquisition of a company as large as Sprint would be quite the undertaking, an IntellectSpace Knowledge Map reveals a number of common connections that could make the a deal reality.

Arrow and Teleflex Connection a Possible Factor in Merger