P.M. BRIEFING : Employee-Led Bid for UAL Corp. Being ‘Explored,’ Chairman Says

UAL Corp. Chairman Stephen M. Wolf said today that the company and its advisers are “exploring” the possibility of a new employee-led bid for the airline company, more than a month after a similar effort failed.

Wolf announced the development in a letter to Sen. Howard M. Metzenbaum (D-Ohio), who chairs a congressional hearing on whether UAL shareholders should pay for more than $55 million in fees and expenses for the failed $16.7-billion buyout.

“In order to maximize shareholder value and provide the security our employees so justly deserve, the company and its advisers are, among other things, exploring the possibility of structuring a new employee-led buyout,” Wolf said.

Wolf said he could not appear at the hearing because he did not want to “prejudice such discussions to the detriment of our shareholders.”

Wolf led the management-employee buyout, which crumbled Oct. 13 when financing stalled. The failure prompted a stock market tailspin.

The company owes more than $55 million to lawyers, investment bankers, advisers and others involved in the effort.