TPG Could Join AMR to Fund Japan Airlines

FORT WORTH, Texas (TheStreet) -- AMR's(AMR Quote) chief financial officer said Wednesday that private-equity firm TPG could help American Airlines invest in Japan Airlines.

"TPG is a well-respected investor in the airline space," AMR Chief Financial Officer Tom Horton told reporters Wednesday, the Wall Street Journal reports. "To the extent that there is an investment to be made, they would be a natural partner for American. We are pleased to have their support."

Horton said TPG could join AMR, the parent of American Airlines, in an equity investment into JAL, its partner in the Oneworld airline alliance. Delta Air Lines is trying to get JAL to join its rival alliance, Skyteam.

TPG declined to comment for the Journal.

Both American and Delta are considering investing minority equity stakes in JAL as a way of gaining greater access to JAL's lucrative Asian routes, the Journal notes.

News of a potential TPG investment follows a pledge from the Japanese government to enlist a state bank to offer the airline a bridge loan to keep it from running out of cash this month, Reuters reports. The airline is headed for its fourth annual loss in five years, weighed down by large debts.

-- Reported by Joseph Woelfel in New York .

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