Icahn Signals Eastern Bid: Takeover strategist Carl...

Icahn Signals Eastern Bid: Takeover strategist Carl C. Icahn has signaled his interest in buying strikebound Eastern Airlines’ Philadelphia airport hub, an associate said. Icahn filed documents with the federal bankruptcy court Friday expressing his interest in the hub without specifying the price he’d be willing to pay, Trans World Airlines general counsel Mark Buckstein said. Icahn, who publicly expressed interest in all of Eastern some time ago but hasn’t formally bidded, is the owner and chairman of TWA. On Thursday, the state of Pennsylvania filed a challenge to USAir Group Inc.’s proposed purchase of eight Eastern gates at Philadelphia airport, saying the transaction could lead to higher ticket prices in Pennsylvania. Separately, Eastern temporarily closed its maintenance center at Kennedy International Airport in New York after the Federal Aviation Administration found repeated violations of maintenance procedures.