Icahn Withdraws Bid for National Airlines

Billionaire financier Carl Icahn withdrew a bid to buy bankrupt National Airlines Inc. after the struggling carrier’s board rejected the offer last week, Icahn’s lawyer said.

Icahn, the former chairman of Trans World Airlines Inc., offered $22.5 million in cash, $43 million owed passengers for unused tickets and $100 million in operating funds as part of his bid for the Las Vegas-based carrier, said Edward Weisfelner, a New York bankruptcy attorney representing Icahn.

Icahn pulled the offer after National’s board refused to present it to the bankruptcy judge overseeing the airline’s Chapter 11 reorganization, Weisfelner said. The privately held carrier filed for bankruptcy protection in December in the face of rising fuel costs.