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STORY: Alaska Airlines is set to snap up rival U.S. airline Hawaiian for $1.9 billion. It’s paying $18 per share in cash - or close to four times Friday’s (December 1) closing price. The whopping premium reflects how low Hawaiian shares have sunk. Over the past year the carrier has been battered by problems including the Maui wildfires. It’s also been hit by high fuel prices and recalls for some of the engines on its Airbus jets. Those factors drove heavy losses, and a 65% slump in its stock price. But the deal is sure to attract the attention of antitrust regulators, who have generally been wary of mergers between smaller airlines. That’s despite 80% of the U.S. market being controlled by just four giants: United, Delta, American and Southwest. The takeover would give Alaska Air control of more than 50% of the market for flights to Hawaii, one of the world’s top holiday destinations. But chief executive Ben Minicucci is confident watchdogs will OK the deal, pointing out that the two airlines’ networks hardly overlap at all. He defended the premium offer as a bargain, saying it still valued Hawaiian at less than its annual revenue. In a presentation to investors, Alaska Air also said that the island airline had a long history of profitability prior to the recent issues.