Star (via LH) has been sniffing around at EY ever since Strodel stepped up as CEO.
Star's preferred partner in the region would be EK, but 2nd best is also an option.
An EY takeover of bmi? Not really. LH and SMB have a contractual agreement which requires bmi to offer LH SMB's 50% plus 1 share in 2009.
(Although there are a bunch of people at EY who'd like to get their own back at bmi...)