AIRLINES

One of 5 Bids for Continental Withdrawn: A group involving several former Continental Airlines employees has withdrawn its $425-million bid for the carrier. The bid from Benefit Concepts New York Inc. was one of five offers submitted for the Houston carrier, which is in the midst of bankruptcy reorganization. The remaining four offers now range between $385 million and $425 million. A spokesman for Continental--which has said it would decide by Nov. 9 which investor it prefers--said the Benefit Concepts bid did not have the financial resources necessary to qualify as a credible bidder. But the president of Benefit Concepts said Continental’s refusal to provide the group with non-public financial information prevented the bidder from reviewing the company’s prospects and thus forced the withdrawal.