By Ilona Wissenbach and Joanna Plucinska
FRANKFURT/LONDON (Reuters) -Lufthansa has abandoned its plan to bid for a stake in Spanish airline Air Europa, a spokesperson for the German group said on Tuesday, only a week after Air France-KLM announced it was also dropping out of the process.
That leaves Turkish Airlines as the only known remaining bidder. British Airways-owner IAG owns a 20% stake in Air Europa but failed to get regulatory approval for a full takeover in 2024 after years of talks.
“After thorough analyses and intense negotiations, we have at this stage decided against further engaging in a capital contribution and shareholding in Air Europa,” the Lufthansa spokesperson said.
Globalia, the family-owned company controlling Air Europa, declined to comment. Turkish Airlines did not respond to a request for comment.
Lufthansa Chief Executive Carsten Spohr last week said negotiations for a possible stake in Air Europa were difficult, with sources saying any proposed deal would be complex given IAG’s existing stake.
The process has faced delays due in part to disagreements between members of the Hidalgo family, which owns Air Europa, and concerns from interested airlines on the structure of the deal, Reuters previously reported.
(Reporting by Ilona Wissenbach and Joanna Plucinska, Additional reporting by Ceyda Caglayan and Inti Landauro, editing by Inti Landauro, Kirsten Donovan)
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