Delta launches tender offer to reduce debt

ATLANTA — Delta Air Lines Inc. said Wednesday it has launched tender offers to buy certain pass through certificates and its 11.75 percent senior second lien notes due in 2015 as part of its ongoing effort to reduce debt.

The offer by the world's largest airline includes three series of Northwest Airlines pass through certificates. A pass through certificate is a stake in a group of aircraft loans. Delta bought Northwest in 2008.

Delta also plans to offer its own pass through certificates series and its 11.75 percent senior second lien notes due in 2015, using a modified "Dutch auction" procedure, meaning bidders chose how many notes they wanted to buy and at what price.

(This version clarifies definition of pass through certificates and corrects typo in second paragraph.)