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The Air France KLM Group announced today that it has placed a €300 million bid for a 51% stake in Spanish Airline, Air Europa (according to El Confidencial). The offer pay the sum in cash to the Hidalgo family (the current owners) as well as assume any debts currently held.
This offer comes on the heels of a failed acquisition by International Airlines Group (IAG), which is the parent company of Iberia. Lufthansa has also expressed interest in the carrier and reportedly offered €240 million for a 25% stake. Lufthansa just acquired a 41% stake in ITA Airways and is hungry for more.
Air France, KLM, and Air Europa are all members of the SkyTeam alliance. From a marketing and collaboration perspective, it would be an easy buy. But, the family is reportedly divided on which direction to go forward. Acquiring Air Europa would give the Air France KLM Group access to many Latin American and the Caribbean routes that it does not currently serve. Air Europa offers nonstop flights from its Adolfo Suárez Madrid-Barajas Airport (MAD) hub to many cities across the Atlantic. Air Europa might also be able to join the transatlantic venture held by Air France, KLM, Delta, and Virgin Atlantic.
Air Europa is not the only European carrier currently being looked at as an acquisition target. Both the Air France KLM Group and the Lufthansa Group have expressed interest in buying the Portuguese airline known as TAP Air Portugal. It’s currently a member of Star Alliance and seems like it would be a better choice for Lufthansa.
Consolidation is gaining speed in Europe with the three major airline groups owning almost every carrier and trying to snap up any that they do not. We’ll see if there are any antitrust concerns here and which direction the Hidalgo family goes with this potential sale.
Anthony’s Take: Air Europa seems ripe for acquisition and it will be interesting to see how this plays out. The Air France KLM Group seems like the logical suitor.
(Image Credits: Air Europa and Air France KLM Group.)
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Advertiser & Editorial Disclosure: The Bulkhead Seat earns an affiliate commission for anyone approved through the links above This compensation may impact how and where links appear on this site. We work to provide the best publicly available offers to our readers. We frequently update them, but this site does not include all available offers. Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed, or approved by any of these entities.
