The ongoing saga of who is buying British Midland Airways (owner of British Midland International and BMI Baby) continues to rumble on with International Consolidated Airlines Group (owner of British Airways and Iberia) seemingly wanting BMI according to Bloomberg.
IAG concedes that whilst the sales process is taking longer thanks to Virgin Atlantic Airways putting it’s money where it’s mouth is (for once), IAG Chairman Antonio Vazquez states that they will complete the transaction “sooner rather than later
Speaking at a press event, the chairman also said
“The negotiations are going well and I’m very optimistic we will be able to complete the deal.”
As we all know, BMI has turned into a cash sinkhole for Lufthansa who want shot of it as soon as possible. And if anything, the Virgin bid could be enough for Lufthansa to turn the screws on IAG for more money out of a deal – which IAG could for-fill.
Whilst a Virgin win could be better for Lufthansa to allow more Star Alliance integration and defend itself from a London attack from Heathrow, it’s interesting to to note the silence of where the money is coming from to fund this purchase from Virgin (unless there has been a massive lotto win that Virgin have been keeping quiet about).
Certainly, this isn’t over – not by a long shot. The manoeuvrings of both Virgin and IAG will fill speculation and forums for some time to come I’d wager.
The full article is at http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-12-20/iag-pledges-to-grab-lufthansa-s-bmi-to-beat-virgin-bid-for-u-k-airline.html