European aviation giant IAG has converted a €100 million loan to Air Europa’s parent company into a 20 per cent stake in the Spanish carrier.
IAG, which owns British Airways, Iberia, Aer Lingus and Vueling, admitted it was looking to revive its bid to purchase Air Europa after loaning €100 million to the airline’s owner Globalia in March 2022
The airline group announced on Tuesday (16 August) that it had “exercised its option to exchange the group's €100 million seven-year unsecured loan to Globalia for a 20 per cent equity stake in Air Europa”.
IAG’s original €1 billion acquisition of Air Europa, which was first announced in 2019, was derailed by the Covid-19 pandemic. The price was later dropped to €500 million in January 2021 before being scrapped completely at the end of last year.
Luis Gallego, IAG's chief executive, said in March - at the time of making the loan to Globalia - that his company “remain convinced about the strategic importance of this deal to the development and competitiveness of Madrid's hub”.
The loan also gave IAG a one-year “exclusivity” period to negotiate a new agreement to acquire Air Europa.