In brief: AMR unions will back US Airways buyout bid

DALLAS – Unions at American Airlines plan to support a potential takeover offer by rival US Airways, according to two people familiar with the situation.

The unions believe that combining with US Airways would give American the best chance to grow and preserve jobs, said the two, who spoke on condition that they not be identified because no decision has been announced.

An announcement by the unions is possible as early as this morning, they said.

A spokesman for American said Thursday that the company is focused on its own plan to reorganize under bankruptcy protection, which he called the best option for the airline’s 73,000 employees.

US Airways Group Inc., based in Tempe, Ariz., declined to comment. It has previously confirmed hiring advisers to consider a bid for American’s parent company, AMR Corp., based in Texas.

AMR filed for bankruptcy protection in November and has since outlined plans to cut more than 14,000 jobs, including 13,000 held by union members.

Human Genome rejects GlaxoSmithKline offer

ROCKVILLE, Md. – Biotech drugmaker Human Genome Sciences Inc. has rejected an unsolicited $2.59 billion takeover bid by GlaxoSmithKline PLC, the British pharmaceutical giant that spent nearly two decades helping the smaller company bring its first drug to market.

Rockville, Md.-based Human Genome Sciences said Thursday the offer undervalues the company and that it would explore other options, which could include a potential sale of the company. It invited GlaxoSmithKline to participate in its exploratory process.

GlaxoSmithKline offered $13 per share, which is an 81 percent premium to Human Genome’s closing price on Wednesday of $7.17 per share. Human Genome currently has about 199.1 million outstanding shares, according to FactSet.

Microsoft’s 3Q beats analysts’ predictions

REDMOND, Wash. – Microsoft fared better than analysts anticipated in its latest quarter, boosted by a surprising rise in sales of its Windows operating system.

The fiscal third-quarter performance announced Thursday comes as investors look forward to the release of Windows 8 later this year. The next version marks the most radical overhaul of the widely-used operating system in decades.

Microsoft Corp. earned $5.1billion, or 60 cents per share, during the three months ending in March. That was down from net income of $5.2billion, or 61 cents per share, a year ago.

Last year’s results were boosted by a $461 million tax benefit.

Revenue rose 6 percent from last year to $17.4 billion.

Analysts had anticipated earnings of 58 cents per share on revenue of $17.2 billion.