International Airlines Group (LON:AIG) has announced that it has wrapped up the deal to buy airline British Midland Limited (BMI) from Deutsche Lufthansa AG (ETR:LHA).
IAG is the parent company of British Airways.
IAG, which agreed last December to pay GBP172.5m (USD278m/EUR211m) for BMI, said it would also take on the British airline’s units bmibaby and bmi regional which Lufthansa had failed to sell prior to completion, but it expects costs related to these businesses to be deducted from the agreed price for BMI.
As these units are not part of its long-term plans, IAG will seek options to exit them and would provide details about the progress in due course.
For the bmi mainline business, IAG has already started consultation with workers and their unions over plans to fold the business into British Airways, the buyer said.
The deal will add as much as 56 additional daily slot pairs to IAG’s slot portfolio at the Heathrow airport in London, one of its key hub airports, it said. Increased efficiency in using the slot portfolio will allow IAG the option to launch new longhaul routes to key trading nations while supporting its domestic and shorthaul network, chief executive, Willie Walsh, has said.
It will also enhance Heathrow’s position as a world-class hub airport, while benefiting Britain by generating growth and enabling it to better compete globally, Walsh added.
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