Air France KLM appears to be on the verge of being named a minority partner in the reorganized Alitalia, beating out Lufthansa for the right to purchase a 20%-25% stake, according to widespread press reports from Italy.
Investor group Compagnia Aerea Italia met with Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi yesterday and “explained . . . their [...]
Etihad Airways could acquire Europe’s third largest low-fare airline, Air Berlin if the deal goes through.
If the deal proceeds, Etihad would be the first to accomplish a takeover across continents, after talks between British Airways and Qantas failed last week. In addition to its commercial limitations, the airlines would face regulatory hurdles such as bilateral [...]
British Airways and Qantas have given up an attempt to merge, leaving the British carrier free to pursue a tie-up with Iberia.
The Australian and British airlines failed to agree on the most basic term of the merger: how to share ownership of the proposed combined business.
Qantas’s market valuation is higher than British Airways, implying that [...]
Air France-KLM will wholly-own Dutch carrier Martinair by the end of this year after securing long-awaited clearance for the takeover from the European Commission.
KLM has held a 50% share of Martinair for several years but attempts to acquire the outstanding balance have failed to receive regulatory approval.
But the European Commission, which opened an inquiry into the renewed [...]
Britain’s BMI is being taken over by Lufthansa for €400m (£318m).
Lufthansa, which already owns just under 30% of BMI, has bought the 50% owned by BMI chairman Sir Michael Bishop, taking its stake to 80%. The remaining 20% of BMI is owned by Sweden-based Scandinavian Airlines, which has said it also wants to sell.
