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SAN FRANCISCO >> Alaska Airlines has removed its last major hurdle to buying Virgin America.
Alaska said Wednesday it agreed to settle a private antitrust lawsuit that threatened to hold up its $2.6 billion purchase of Virgin America.
Seattle-based Alaska did not disclose terms of the settlement, which came days before a trial on the lawsuit was scheduled to begin in federal district court in San Francisco.
The settlement also came a day after the U.S. Justice Department approved the purchase, but only after Alaska agreed to scale back a partnership it has with American Airlines on some routes.
The deal will make Alaska the nation’s fifth-biggest airline, leapfrogging over JetBlue Airways Corp., which also tried to buy Virgin America. Alaska said it hopes to complete the acquisition soon but gave no date.
ON THE MOVE
Prospect Mortgage has welcomed Suzie Bass as a senior loan officer. Her responsibilities include specializing in residential mortgage loan origination and refinancing. Bass has 14 years of experience in the Hawaii mortgage industry, including previously having served as a vice president at Honolulu HomeLoans as well as a senior loan officer at Pacific Home Lending.
University of Hawaii at Manoa has announced that D. Kapua‘ala Sproat has been named associate director of Ka Huli Ao Center for Excellence in Native Hawaiian Law. Sproat began serving in 2007 as an assistant professor for Ka Huli Ao and the Environmental Law Program at the UH-Manoa William S. Richardson School of Law.