By BILL HENSEL JR.= Continental's ticket to mergermania could cost $100=0A=0ABy BILL HENSEL JR.= =0ACopyright 2008 Houston Chronicle =0ATOOLS=0AEmail Get section feed =0APr= int Subscribe NOW =0AComments (1) Recommend =0A=0ACall it Continental Airli= nes' $100 ticket to freedom, roughly the cost of a one-way fare from Housto= n to Corpus Christi.=0ARight now, Northwest Airlines has a so-called "golde= n share" of Houston-based Continental, giving it power to nix virtually any= merger deal involving the carrier.=0AThat's unless Northwest merges first = with Delta Air Lines or another carrier =97 and merger talk is rampant thes= e days. Under that scenario, Continental has the right to buy back the gold= en share for a crisp $100 bill and be free chart its own course.=0ADelta re= portedly is in talks with both United Airlines and Northwest about a merger= with one or the other, and the speculation has heated up major airline sto= cks that have suffered since summertime. They rose again Tuesday, and Conti= nental closed up $1.92 per share to $25.27 in trading on the New York Stock= Exchange after Standard & Poor's predicted any Delta deal would draw Conti= nental into play.=0A"We believe that it is likely that an announced merger = agreement between Delta and either Northwest or United would trigger negoti= ations between the remaining airline and Continental Airlines," the agency = said in a release Tuesday.=0AUnited's chief executive, former Houstonian Gl= enn Tilton, has said in the past that he believes a merger of United and Co= ntinental would have considerable benefits, Standard & Poor's noted.=0A"At = present, Northwest can block a merger involving Continental in most circums= tances, but if Northwest itself enters into a merger with another large air= line, that blocking right would end," the agency added.=0AOf course, the sh= are would be moot if Continental and Northwest were left to mingle.=0AConti= nental had no comment Tuesday on any of the merger talks. But top executive= s of the carrier are expected to be peppered with merger questions during a= conference call Thursday to release quarterly and year-end earnings.=0ACon= tinental's chairman and chief executive, Larry Kellner, told employees in a= taped message over the weekend that it has a good plan if the industry rem= ains as it is. If it changes, it will do what is in the best interest of al= l its stakeholders, he said.=0AAlthough Delta has not confirmed merger talk= s, the head of the airline's pilots' union =97 who sits on Delta's board of= directors =97 told fellow flyers in an internal letter last week that indu= stry consolidation may be "very close," Standard & Poor's noted.=0A"Similar= ly, the CEO of Northwest is reported to have recently told that airline's e= mployees that the company would carefully consider any merger proposal, and= that the right transaction could be favorable for Northwest," the credit r= ating agency said.=0ATilton has been speaking out in favor of consolidation= ever since United came out of bankruptcy in early 2006.=0AContinental and = Northwest came together in early 1998, when Continental was resisting merge= r overtures from Delta. Northwest had bought a controlling stake in Contine= ntal from an investor group, and the two carriers formed an alliance that s= till exists.=0AThe Justice Department sued after their stock deal, though, = saying Northwest's ownership stake violated antitrust laws and would hurt c= onsumers by reducing competition. But the government never challenged the a= lliance.=0AContinental later asked to buy back its stock from Northwest, bu= t the Minnesota-based carrier refused. And as Justice Department lawyers pr= epared the antitrust case for trial, Continental sided with the government.= =0AAfter two days of courtroom testimony in late 2000, the two airlines rea= ched a settlement under which Northwest agreed to sell Continental most of = the stock =97 6.7 million shares =97 but retain the golden share. The deal = also extended the alliance, which runs to 2025.=0Abill.hensel@xxxxxxxxx <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> If you wish to unsubscribe from the AIRLINE List, please send an E-mail to: "listserv@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx". Within the body of the text, only write the following:"SIGNOFF AIRLINE".