Atlanta Business Chronicle -Hedge fund investors have put Delta Air Lines Inc.’s pilots on alert by shorting Delta stock just as CEO Richard Anderson renewed speculation that the airline couldcombine with a rival.<\/p>\n
Delta pilots, who met recently to get an analysis of industry trends, specifically on mergers, are discussing rebuilding a $1 million “merger assessment” fund they could use to hire legal representation in the case of new merger talks.<\/p>\n
In a Sept. 24 letter to fellow pilots, Lee Moak, head of Delta’s pilots union, outlined his concerns. He wrote that “institutional investors — including many hedge fund investors — see opportunity.”<\/p>\n
But unlike traditional institutional investors, he wrote, these investors are looking for a “transaction” that could include a “forced” sale of Delta’s frequent-flier program, reservation <\/a><\/p>\n