Mesa Air Makes Bid for Atlantic Coast Airlines

Mesa Air Group(MESA Quote) offered to acquire rival Atlantic Coast Airlines(ACAI Quote) in an all-stock deal.

Mesa offered to pay 0.9 Mesa shares for each share of ACA, giving the stock an $11.30 value, a 25% premium over its closing price Friday and a 35% premium over its average trading price since July 28.

The deal would create a regional airline with about 300 airplanes operating in the U.S.

Shares of ACA were up 52 cents, or 5.7%, at $9.54 in early trading Monday, while Mesa was halted at Friday's close of $12.54.