IAG to cancel Air Europa take-over

On 15 December, IAG has issued a statement in which it says it's in advanced negotiations with Globalia, the owner of Air Europa, to terminate the acquisition of Air Europa by Iberia as agreed and signed on 4 November 2019 and what was amended on 20 January 2021. Further announcements will follow when the negotiations have finalised.

IAG announced on 4 November 2019 it would acquire Air Europa via Iberia for 1 billion euros and would operate the airline as a separate subsidiary of Iberia. Unfortunately, the pandemic struck, resulting in losses for all parties involved. Despite this, IAG and Globalia reconfirmed their deal on 20 January 2021 but for a lower acquisition price of 500 million euros instead.

Early November, the CEO of IAG already said they were considering to back-out of the deal and pay the cancellation fee of 40 million euros to Globalia as the financial situation of Air Europa has further deteriorated and the airline accumulated more debt.

Photo by Anton Homma.