Joining its rivals United and Delta, American Airlines has acquired a minority stake in the post-merger Republic Airways Holdings.
According to a Dec. 19 filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, American acquired about 9.7 million shares in the regional airline, amounting to 20.8% of the company.
Americans’ stake was secured through an agreement connected to the merger of Republic and Mesa Airlines, the filing states. As part of the transaction, the carrier agreed not to unload any Republic stock for at least 180 days after the closing date.
American now has the largest investment in Republic out of the Big Three. United acquired around 7.7 million shares, while Delta owns about 6.7 million 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 under a single operating certificate.
Republic and Mesa will continue to operate flights for their current airline partners. Republic has service agreements with American, United, and Delta, while Mesa works only with United, flying as United Express.
