Some Delta creditors form separate group

NEW YORK (Reuters) - A group of nine unsecured creditors of Delta Air Lines Inc. DALRQ.PK have formed an unofficial committee to represent their interests, as the bankrupt carrier faces a takeover bid, according to court filings on Thursday.

The formation of the unofficial committee, which consists of creditors such as Deutsche Bank Securities Inc. and Lehman Brothers Inc., comes after US Airways Group Inc. (LCC.N) made an unsolicited $8.6 billion takeover offer for Delta on November 15.

Unsecured creditors in Delta's bankruptcy are already represented by one official committee, which consists of nine of Delta's largest creditors whose claims are not backed by collateral.

But none of the members of the new group are on the official creditor committee.

Atlanta-based Delta, which has been operating under Chapter 11 protection since September 2005, has said it intends to emerge from bankruptcy protection in the first half of 2007 as a stand-alone carrier and aims to file its reorganization plan this month. Delta's management has said it would review US Airways' offer as it is obligated to do.

The new group was expected to put pressure on Delta to fully consider the US Airways bid as an alternative to its stand-alone strategy, a person familiar with the matter said in November, when the group was being organized.

Delta's pilot union, which is part of the official creditor committee, has opposed US Airways' bid, saying it prefers the airline to remain independent.

Members of the new unofficial committee hold claims on unsecured obligations and securities issued by Delta, according to the filing. It did not say how much the members held among them.