Lufthansa to take control of BMI
4 October 2009Lufthansa will take full control of BMI British Midland by buying a 20 per cent stake from Scandinavian carrier SAS, a move that will give the German carrier freedom to decide the fate of its Heathrow subsidiary.
Europe’s largest airline will pay SAS 38m ($61m), half for the stake and the other half for SAS relinquishing rights codified in a shareholder agreement in 1999, both airlines said wi thout giving further details.
Taking over the secondlargest UK carrier appears to put Lufthansa into direct competition with British Airways at its Heathrow hub.
source: FT.com
