IAG abandons Air Europa takeover
British Airways parent International Consolidated Airlines Group confirmed a planned takeover of Air Europa has been scrapped.
"IAG and Globalia confirm today they are in an advanced phase of negotiations to cancel the agreement," IAG said.
IAG had agreed to pay a revised €500 million.
Competition regulators had set strict conditions in the Spanish domestic market and on international routes out of the country to green-light the deal.
According to sources IAG’s compromise of dropping several medium and short-haul routes, and two long-haul routes from Madrid and Barcelona did not satisfy the European Commission’s competition concerns.
IAG had originally agreed to pay €1 billion but later secured a cut-price Covid deal.
"We always said that if we can find a place that is good for all of us, we will do the deal. And if not, we don’t do the deal, as we have done in other occasions," IAG chief executive Luis Gallego said.
Air Europa is Spain’s third largest airline.
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