Which 1989 U.S. leveraged-buyout deal is often linked to the October 1989 mini-crash?

The 1989 leveraged-buyout deal often linked to the October 1989 mini-crash was the proposed United Airlines buyout.

On October 13, 1989, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 190.58 points, then its largest one-day point decline. The fall became known as the mini-crash or Black Friday. A major trigger was news that a group led by Shearson Lehman Hutton and United Airlines employees could not complete a highly leveraged purchase of United Continental Holdings.

The proposed transaction depended on financing and complex debt arrangements. When the deal appeared to be failing, investors reassessed other leveraged buyouts and the broader market's high valuations. Selling intensified, especially in stocks connected with acquisition activity.

The episode was much smaller and shorter than the 1987 crash. It is also easy to confuse it with Black Friday labels used for other financial events. The United deal itself was not completed in the proposed form, making its failure a notable symbol of late-1980s takeover excess.