United and Delta have taken minority stakes in Republic Airways Holdings following the merger of Republic and Mesa Airlines last month.
According to Republic’s recent filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, United has acquired about 7.7 million shares, while Delta has taken around 6.7 million shares, making both airlines over 10% owners in the combined company. Delta had owned stock in the pre-merger Republic, and each share was automatically converted into the right to receive 38.9 shares of the new company upon the merger’s close.
Both acquisitions were initiated on Nov. 25, the day the merger closed.
Republic said in its Form 8-K that it has approximately 46.9 million shares of common stock outstanding, including about 1.2 million restricted shares subject to vesting terms of equity awards and about 2.8 million escrow shares.
Republic and Mesa completed their merger in November. The combined business now owns the world’s largest Embraer fleet, with nearly 300 E170 and E175 aircraft, and operates over 1,300 daily departures, making it one of the largest regional airlines in the U.S.
Even though they are now legally one company, the two carriers will maintain parallel operations until they can be consolidated into a single operating certificate.
Republic and Mesa will continue to operate flights for their current airline partners. Republic has service agreements with United, Delta, and American, while Mesa works only with United, flying as United Express.
