Delta Air Lines Inc. and private equity firm TPG Capital are separately assessing potential bids for AMR Corp., the Fort Worth-based parent of American Airlines, The Wall Street Journal reported today. The newspaper attributed the information to people familiar with the matter.

AMR filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in late November. It’s in the midst of restructuring its debt and cutting labor costs, which may make it more attractive to a potential buyer.

Spokesmen for American, Delta and TPG said they do not comment on rumors or speculation.

Any bid for AMR likely would come several months from now, The Journal said.

TPG, which has expertise in the airline industry, has approached AMR about its interest, according to The Journal article.

The Journal said Delta has hired Blackstone Group as its financial adviser to assess a potential AMR bid, people familiar with the matter said. Blackstone helped Delta restructure in its 2005 bankruptcy.

After its merger with Northwest Airlines in 2008, Delta became the world’s largest carrier. American is the nation’s No. 3 airline by traffic.

Delta has conducted an antitrust analysis on a possible tie-up with AMR and concluded that with some concessions, such a deal has a good chance of getting approval from regulators, according to The Journal.

In a letter to employees in December, AMR’s new chief executive, Tom Horton, cautioned that the company could be the target of a takeover while in bankruptcy. “As we’ve seen before in this industry, there may be opportunists who wish to acquire our company while we are in this situation,” he said.

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