TAM and LAN shares hit as court puts brakes on merger
Chile's antitrust court, TDLC, has ordered a suspension of the merger process between LAN and TAM while it conducts an investigation of the competitive impact of the merger. The court ordered the suspension while it hears a petition filed by the National Consumers Corp, a consumer rights organisation.
The organisation, known as Conadecus, argues certain routes between Santiago and São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro will be operated under monopoly control if the merger goes through. Shares in TAM were down 6.1% in trading on Modnay, while shares in LAN declined 1%.
Elsewhere, North American regional carriers and LCCs showed better share performances than their full service counterparts. Republic Airways shares gained 2.2% while JetBlue shares were up 2%.
Selected North and Latin American airlines daily share price movements (% change): 31-Jan-2011