Investor Pritzker May Make an Offer for Pan Am

Chicago investor Jay Pritzker said Monday that he is considering a proposal for Pan Am Corp., including possible financing for the struggling carrier.

“We have been approached by the unsecured creditors committee of Pan Am to make a proposal including a DIP (debtor-in-possession) loan,” Pritzker said in a statement.

Under a debtor-in-possession loan, which is designed to protect the lender, Pritzker would be one of the top creditors to be paid back by bankrupt Pan Am.

“We are considering making such a proposal but have not finalized our position,” he said.

Pritzker and his brother, Robert, run the hotel conglomerate Hyatt Corp. and many other companies from Chicago under the Marmon Group umbrella.

Jay Pritzker has ventured into the airlines business once before, as one-time owner of bankrupt Braniff Airlines, which he bought in 1983. He tried to merge the airline with Pan Am, but the deal failed when Pan Am’s unions refused to accept new wage agreements.