Is There A Doctor On Board?

How buyout king David Bonderman is infusing US Airways with new money--and maybe new life

When Continental Airlines, one of the most maligned passenger carriers in history, was headed into bankruptcy in 1993, moneyman David Bonderman rushed in with Texas Pacific Group, like a team of trauma surgeons, to give it a $66 million transfusion. A year later, the group pumped in $40 million to save America West. So when US Airways filed for bankruptcy last week, guess who pulled $200 million out of their first-aid kit to help revive the sixth largest U.S. carrier? Bonderman's boys.

Find the sickest company you can, and the odds are good that Texas Pacific wants a hand in healing...

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