Macquarie Bank and TPG Inc. said they may resubmit an A$11.1 billion ($9.1 billion) bid for Qantas Airways to keep the world's biggest airline takeover alive.The bidders might again offer A$5.45 a share in cash, Sydney-based Macquarie Bank said in a statement today. The original bid lapsed after they failed to get the required 50% of acceptances until several hours after the deadline passed on May 4. Shares in Qantas, Australia's biggest airline, were halted from trading today after closing at A$5.38 on Friday.The buyout group wants to take control of Qantas as the airline enters its 14th straight year of profit growth. Australia's takeovers and securities regulators ruled late acceptances for the six-month-old bid were invalid. The Takeovers Panel said it won't start proceedings to review a decision to disallow a late acceptance after the 7 p.m. deadline in Sydney. The buyout group today argued it may have reached 50% before the offer closed. It said a clause in Australia's Corporations Act may allow it to count all of an investor's holding, regardless of how much was tendered.
