Air France-KLM is in talks to buy up to a 20 per cent stake in Spanish carrier Air Europa after the planned takeover by rival airline group IAG was scrapped last quarter.
The transaction would reportedly be worth more than €100 million, according to Bloomberg, and would not require the approval of the EU’s antitrust regulator if the acquisition remained below the 20 per cent threshold.
Air Europa owner Globalia on Wednesday confirmed there was “interest” from the Franco-Dutch group as well as “from other airlines and funds” after Spanish newspaper El Economista reported Air France-KLM was considering taking up to a 20 per cent stake in Air Europa.
In August, IAG abandoned a deal to acquire Air Europa for the second time after the European Commission raised competition concerns.
IAG, which already owns British Airways, Iberia, Vueling and Aer Lingus, has an existing 20 per cent stake in Air Europa and had attempted to buy the remaining 80 per cent.
However, it pulled out of the deal after concluding that “in the current regulatory environment it would not be in the best interests of shareholders to continue with the transaction”.
Earlier this year, Air France-KLM took an initial 19.9 per cent stake in Scandinavian carrier SAS after the European Commission approved the airline’s restructure plan.