British Airways’ owner IAG has increased its offer for Spanish carrier Vueling by 32 per cent.
IAG made a €113 million bid for Vueling in November but the airline’s board recommended that the bid should be rejected for being too low.
IAG, which already has a 45.85 per cent shareholding in Vueling, has today (March 27) increased its offer from €7 per share to €9.25 per share. Trading of shares in Vueling were earlier suspended in Spain.
The company said it would also now change the minimum acceptance level from the previous terms of 90 per cent of Vueling’s other shareholders to just 4.16 per cent of all shareholders, which would give IAG a controlling stake of 50.01 per cent.
If the intended purchase, which is being made through IAG’s investment vehicle Veloz Holdo, goes ahead, IAG plans to continue running Vueling as a separate brand and will not integrate it into Iberia.
Earlier today, IAG announced that Iberia's chief executive Rafael Sanchez-Lozano has left the airline.
vueling.com