Air France, Lufthansa vie for Spanish airline stake

(FILES) Aircrafts of German airline Lufthansa are seen at "Franz-Josef-Strauss" airport in Munich, southern Germany, on June 25, 2020, amid the novel coronavirus Covid-19 pandemic. - German airline giant Lufthansa said on March 3, 2023 it returned to annual profit in 2022 after two years of losses, its fortunes lifted by rebounding demand as economies reopened after Covid shutdowns. The group reported a net profit of 791 million euros ($839 million) for last year. This compares to a net loss of 2.2 billion euros in 2021 and 6.7 billion euros in 2020. (Photo by Christof STACHE / AFP)

Air France

Air France-KLM and Germany’s Lufthansa have made competing offers to buy a stake in indebted Spanish carrier Air Europa, the El Confidencial news site reported Tuesday.

Air France-KLM has proposed 300 million euros ($327 million) to acquire 51 percent 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 percent, while IAG, the parent company of British Airways and Iberia, would hold 20 percent, it added.

Lufthansa, for its part, has offered to plough 240 million euros in the Spanish company via a capital increase of 25 percent, 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 giant’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 percent 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 2.9 billion euros.

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