11th Mar 2025 12:05
(Alliance News) - Air France-KLM SA and Cologne, Germany-based Deutsche Lufthansa AG have made competing offers to buy a stake in indebted Spanish carrier Air Europa Lineas Aereas SAU, the El Confidencial news site reported Tuesday.
Air France-KLM has proposed EUR300 million to acquire 51% of Air Europa from its main shareholder, the tourism group Globalia, and pledged to take on the debt it incurred with the Spanish state during the coronavirus crisis, El Confidencial said.
The Hidalgo family that controls Globalia would see its stake tumble to 29%, while International Consolidated Airlines Group SA [IAG], the parent company of British Airways and Iberia, would hold 20%, it added.
Lufthansa, for its part, has offered to plough 240 million euros in the Spanish company via a capital increase of 25%, which would allow it to pay off debt contracted with the state.
Air France-KLM and Air Europa declined to comment when contacted by AFP.
The Franco-Dutch company's Chief Executive Benjamin Smith said last week that a stake in Air Europa would "interest" the group.
Air France-KLM has recently acquired 19.9% of Scandinavian airline SAS, while Lufthansa recently sealed a deal with the Italian government for a minority stake in ITA Airways.
Air Europa transported 12 million passengers across Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean last year, posting an increased turnover of EUR2.9 billion.
Air France shares fell 5.6% to EUR10.79 each on Tuesday afternoon in Paris, while Lufthansa shares were 2.5% lower at EUR7.66 each in Frankfurt. IAG shares fell 4.8% to 295.56 pence each in London.
source: AFP
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