Houston's Continental And Atlanta's Delta Merger?

[citykid09]

Sept. 15, 2005, 11:20PM

Airline mergers become likelier

Continental seen as potential buyer of assets

By BILL HENSEL JR.

Copyright 2005 Houston Chronicle

With two major airlines filing for bankruptcy protection in one day, the potential for mergers or other industry consolidation increased considerably, experts said.

"I think it is no secret a lot of people feel there are too many airlines," bankruptcy lawyer David LeMay, a partner with Chadbourne & Parke, said Thursday, a day after Northwest and Delta airlines made their court filings.

LeMay, who was involved in the second bankruptcy of Houston-based Continental in 1993, noted that US Airways and America West will soon merge. US Airways cut costs while in bankruptcy protection.

To read the whole article click here: http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/business/3356140

[citykid09]

There is also new word today that Nissan Could move it's American Headquarters to Dallas.

Nissan may move HQ to Midstate or Texas

1,300 jobs could be relocated from West Coast, report says

By RICHARD LAWSON

Staff Writer

Nashville's corporate headquarters recruiters kept mum yesterday about a report that Nissan Motor Co. is seriously studying moving its overall North American headquarters and roughly 1,300 jobs to Tennessee or Texas from Los Angeles.

The report surfaced for the first time in yesterday's Los Angeles Times. Quoting unnamed sources inside and outside the company, the newspaper said Nissan was considering the move to save money.

The Japanese automaker is considering locations near where it already has operations, the newspaper said. Its North American manufacturing headquarters is in Smyrna, which oversees an engine plant in Decherd, Tenn., and another auto plant in Canton, Miss.

The Smyrna plant employs about 6,500 people and makes the Altima, Maxima, Frontier, Xterra and Pathfinder, and produced roughly a half-million vehicles last year.

In Dallas, Nissan has a large finance operations center that employs about 800 people.

If Nissan is looking toward expanding its Nashville-area presence, state and local economic development officials are keeping their lips zipped about it.

"At any point in time, we are working on a number of opportunities that we're not at liberty to discuss," said Janet Miller, economic development chief for the Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce.

Tom Jurkovich, Mayor Bill Purcell's top economic development adviser, wouldn't comment.

Holly Sears, director of economic development for the Rutherford County Chamber of Commerce, joined the chorus of no comments along with Mark Drury, chief spokesman for Matt Kisber, commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development.

"Our policy is not to talk about any prospects," Drury said.

Currently, Nissan's headquarters operation is split between the communities of Gardena and Carson in Los Angeles County, Calif. The headquarters houses management, marketing, advertising, sales and distribution, and dealership development for North America.

Fred Standish, Nissan North America corporate communications director, would neither confirm nor deny the report.

"We do not comment on any speculation about strategic business decisions."

The Times reported that the study on whether to move and where was the result of Nissan Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Carlos Ghosn's desire to cut costs around the world. Ghosn was attending an auto trade show in Frankfurt, Germany, yesterday.

Since 1999, when Nissan aligned with French automaker Renault, the company has been looking to improve profitability. Part of that effort has meant squeezing costs out of a variety of operations, analysts said.

Earlier this year, for example, Nissan outsourced office-support jobs from Smyrna to a unit of GE Capital International Services in India.

Robert Hill, head of Deloitte Consulting's Asian automotive group in Los Angeles, told the Times that one way to reducing operating costs would be to consolidate facilities to reduce rents, salaries and benefits.

On the rent side, the company might get some savings by moving to the Nashville area. Cushman & Wakefield, a national real estate firm, shows average asking rents in Nissan's area of Los Angeles at about $24 per square foot per year.

Asking rents for brand-new space in Cool Springs is about $21 per square foot. Downtown Nashville asking rents are about $24 for new space at SunTrust Plaza.

Local real estate brokers said there have been rumors about the possibility of a large tenant landing in the Nashville market.

"There's been this mysterious, 250,000-square-foot tenant floating around," said Crews Johnston, a broker with Colliers Turley Martin Tucker.

Barry Smith, president of Eakin Partners, put the size of the mysterious, would-be office tenant at about 300,000 square feet.

"That would be a real good pop," Smith said.

[RedScare]

There is also new word today that Nissan Could move it's American Headquarters to Dallas.

Nissan may move HQ to Midstate or Texas

1,300 jobs could be relocated from West Coast, report says

By RICHARD LAWSON

Staff Writer

Nashville's corporate headquarters recruiters kept mum yesterday about a report that Nissan Motor Co. is seriously studying moving its overall North American headquarters and roughly 1,300 jobs to Tennessee or Texas from Los Angeles.

The report surfaced for the first time in yesterday's Los Angeles Times. Quoting unnamed sources inside and outside the company, the newspaper said Nissan was considering the move to save money.

The Japanese automaker is considering locations near where it already has operations, the newspaper said. Its North American manufacturing headquarters is in Smyrna, which oversees an engine plant in Decherd, Tenn., and another auto plant in Canton, Miss.

The Smyrna plant employs about 6,500 people and makes the Altima, Maxima, Frontier, Xterra and Pathfinder, and produced roughly a half-million vehicles last year.

In Dallas, Nissan has a large finance operations center that employs about 800 people.

If Nissan is looking toward expanding its Nashville-area presence, state and local economic development officials are keeping their lips zipped about it.

"At any point in time, we are working on a number of opportunities that we're not at liberty to discuss," said Janet Miller, economic development chief for the Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce.

Tom Jurkovich, Mayor Bill Purcell's top economic development adviser, wouldn't comment.

Holly Sears, director of economic development for the Rutherford County Chamber of Commerce, joined the chorus of no comments along with Mark Drury, chief spokesman for Matt Kisber, commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development.

"Our policy is not to talk about any prospects," Drury said.

Currently, Nissan's headquarters operation is split between the communities of Gardena and Carson in Los Angeles County, Calif. The headquarters houses management, marketing, advertising, sales and distribution, and dealership development for North America.

Fred Standish, Nissan North America corporate communications director, would neither confirm nor deny the report.

"We do not comment on any speculation about strategic business decisions."

The Times reported that the study on whether to move and where was the result of Nissan Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Carlos Ghosn's desire to cut costs around the world. Ghosn was attending an auto trade show in Frankfurt, Germany, yesterday.

Since 1999, when Nissan aligned with French automaker Renault, the company has been looking to improve profitability. Part of that effort has meant squeezing costs out of a variety of operations, analysts said.

Earlier this year, for example, Nissan outsourced office-support jobs from Smyrna to a unit of GE Capital International Services in India.

Robert Hill, head of Deloitte Consulting's Asian automotive group in Los Angeles, told the Times that one way to reducing operating costs would be to consolidate facilities to reduce rents, salaries and benefits.

On the rent side, the company might get some savings by moving to the Nashville area. Cushman & Wakefield, a national real estate firm, shows average asking rents in Nissan's area of Los Angeles at about $24 per square foot per year.

Asking rents for brand-new space in Cool Springs is about $21 per square foot. Downtown Nashville asking rents are about $24 for new space at SunTrust Plaza.

Local real estate brokers said there have been rumors about the possibility of a large tenant landing in the Nashville market.

"There's been this mysterious, 250,000-square-foot tenant floating around," said Crews Johnston, a broker with Colliers Turley Martin Tucker.

Barry Smith, president of Eakin Partners, put the size of the mysterious, would-be office tenant at about 300,000 square feet.

"That would be a real good pop," Smith said.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Hey, citykid, does this article mean that Nissan is going to merge with Continental and Delta, and then move Continental's headquarters to Dallas? Just curious.

[citykid09]

Hey, citykid, does this article mean that Nissan is going to merge with Continental and Delta, and then move Continental's headquarters to Dallas?  Just curious.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

No I just didn't feel like making a new thread, so I thought I ought to just throw that in. Looks like I should have just made a new one.

[WestGrayGuy]

I believe the merger initiator (Continental) gets to say where the mergee (Delta) will have the corporate headquarters. Hopefully it will be Houston, would suck to have it move to Atlanta.

[MidtownCoog]

CO may buy Deltas assests.

They talked about merging years ago.

Kid, can you read?

[citykid09]

CO may buy Deltas assests.

They talked about merging years ago.

Kid, can you read?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I knew that, I just thought I would get more attention with that title.