American Says It Will Sell Shares in Reservations Unit

American Airlines’ parent company announced plans Thursday to sell part of its reservations system, Sabre Group Holdings Inc., taking a step toward giving the technology business its independence.

The Sabre unit of AMR Corp. registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission for an initial public offering of up to $550 million in stock. It did not say how many shares will be sold in the long-anticipated spinoff. The price of shares typically is set close to the sale date.

AMR, the Fort Worth-based parent of American Airlines, will retain 82% of Sabre by keeping all of the unit’s Class B voting stock, said Michael Durham, Sabre’s president and chief executive.

Sabre currently operates three businesses: travel reservations, data processing and interactive services. It faces growing competition for consumers making travel arrangements through online services, the Internet and other companies.

Durham, a former chief financial officer at AMR, said Sabre’s mission won’t change despite the spinoff.

What will change is the company’s ability to compare itself to publicly traded competitors, he said.

“We’ve had very steady earnings growth and very stable cash flow for many years, but our rate of growth has been lower,” Durham said. “This will be added impetus for the Sabre group to grow at an increasing rate, either through acquisitions or also through other leading-edge travel and information technology companies.”

The companies have not determined what fraction of the IPO’s proceeds will be used to repay Sabre’s $850-million debt to AMR, Durham said.

AMR shares jumped $4.50 to $86.25 on the NYSE.