United retains financial experts By Marilyn Adams, USA TODAY In a new sign of its peril, UAL has hired a financial consultant best known= =20 on Wall Street for advising companies on bankruptcy and financial=20 restructuring. UAL Chief Financial Officer Jake Brace confirmed United=20 Airlines' parent company "relatively recently" hired Rothschild North=20 America, the firm that advised TWA on its Chapter 11 filing last year and=20 subsequent sale to American Airlines' parent, AMR. "We're working with=20 Rothschild on efforts to stay out (of bankruptcy) as well as what we might= =20 do in bankruptcy," Brace said in a joint interview with Rothschild CEO=20 Jerry Rosenfeld. "We're working with them on all our alternatives." The=20 hiring, previously undisclosed, underscores how close the company is to an= =20 unprecedented bankruptcy court filing. No airline of United's size =97 the= =20 second largest in the world in 2001 revenue =97 has sought Chapter 11=20 protection. Last month, then-UAL CEO Jack Creighton said the company would= =20 have to file for a reorganization if the airline's labor unions don't agree= =20 to substantial wage and benefit cuts by Sept. 16. United is seeking $9=20 billion in labor cost-cuts over six years to qualify for a federal loan=20 guarantee in an effort to make nearly $1 billion in debt payments later=20 this year. "This says United is getting prepared" for a Chapter 11 filing, said=20 airline analyst Ray Neidl of Blaylock & Partners. Given last month's=20 announcement, "it's logical they would employ legal counsel and a=20 reorganization specialist. Rothschild and Lazard Freres are the big names=20 in restructuring." Rosenfeld previously was head of investment banking for= =20 Lazard. UAL hired law firm Kirkland & Ellis last fall to handle a possible= =20 bankruptcy filing. Union leaders have rejected UAL's $9 billion cost-cut=20 proposal and are drafting one based on their revenue projections for the=20 airline. Labor leaders think UAL's revenue projections for the next six=20 years, which show slow growth, are too pessimistic. UAL is 55% owned by its= =20 employees, and two union representatives sit on the board. A bankruptcy=20 filing would wipe out employee equity and could allow the company to void=20 its labor agreements. A week ago, UAL's board named former oil executive Glenn Tilton as chairman= =20 and CEO. He has said Chapter 11 isn't a "foregone conclusion" but hasn't=20 ruled it out. Some union leaders and UAL directors have suggested the Sept.= =20 16 deadline should be extended to give Tilton time to negotiate with the=20 unions. But Brace said that next Monday is "still the date" and that UAL=20 hasn't sought an extension from the federal loan board. It has asked the=20 government to guarantee $1.8 billion of a $2 billion loan. The owner of Roger's Trinbago Site: Roj (Roger James) *************************************************** escape email mailto:ejames@escape.ca Trinbago site: http://www.tntisland.com CBC Website http://www.tntisland.com/caribbeanbrassconnection/ The Trinbago Site of the Week: (Trini Tuner http://www.trinituner.com/ (TriniTuner.com) courtesy of Roj Trinbago Website & TnT Web Directory Roj's Trinbago Website: http://www.tntisland.com TnT Web Directory: http://search.co.tt *********************************************************