UAL Corp., Chicago, today said it will allow State Street Bank, the independent trustee of its ESOP, to sell up to 12,857,600 additional shares of UAL stock held by the plan. Judge Eugene R. Wedoff of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Chicago on Friday ordered the parent company of United Airlines to inform State Street of the number of shares that it could sell without jeopardizing the company’s use of its net operating losses. "Preserving the NOL is expected to generate substantial tax benefits following United’s emergence from Chapter 11 protection,” according to a company statement.
The court has scheduled a hearing for Wednesday on whether State Street should be allowed complete latitude to sell all the shares at its discretion, in the interest of employees. The ESOP has about 32 million shares, according to Arlene Roberts, State Street spokeswoman.
