The board of Spanish carrier Vueling has urged its shareholders to reject a €113 million takeover offer from British Airway’s owner IAG.
IAG, which already has a 45.85 per cent shareholding in Vueling, has made a bid of €7 per share for the rest of the company it does not currently own.
But Vueling’s board said yesterday (March 7) that IAG’s offer was too low and did not “reflect the airline’s true value”. It has therefore recommended that shareholders reject the current offer.
IAG, which also owns Iberia, said it would “reflect on Vueling’s announcement and provide an update in due course”. The company has given Vueling shareholders a deadline of April 8 to say if they would accept the €7 per share offer. IAG has previously said it would not raise its offer for Vueling.
Willie Walsh, IAG’s chief executive, has said that if the bid for Vueling is successful it will continue as a standalone carrier under current CEO Alex Cruz and will not be merged into Iberia.
Vueling’s share price closed at €7.85 on Thursday before the board’s recommendation was announced but the price rose to more than €8.30 in early trading on Friday (March 8).