I was involved indirectly in the sale of Hughes Airwest to Republic Airlines and was one of the few senior executives retained after the merger. Prior to the sale I was visited by senior management of Republic Airlines who made it clear they had a position for me. Apparently they spoke to the owners of Hughes Airwest, Summa Corporation, who in turn approached me with a retention agreement.
Basically they wanted me hand-cuffed to my office chair until they could complete the acquisition. William Lummis, Chairman of Summa Corporation and a cousin of Howard Hughes, signed the agreement and later presented me with a check on the day the sale was completed. It was the largest check I had ever received and I used the proceeds to purchase IBM computer equipment for lease to corporations.
This was not my first brush with a company owned by Howard Hughes since I had joined TWA (Trans World Airlines) shortly after Hughes sold that airline. He used the $500 million profit to purchase Hughes Airwest which much later accrued to my benefit.