Article - WSJ.com
The EU commission have set a deadline of May 14th to clear the LH deal. Hope we get some clear idea of LH plans soon...
(Full Article)
BRUSSELS (Dow Jones)-The European Commission has set a May 14 deadline in its initial review of German flag carrier Deutsche Lufthansa AG's (LHA.XE) planned takeover of U.K.'s British Midland Airways, or bmi, according to a commission document.
By that date, the commission has to clear the deal or launch a four-month in-depth investigation.
Lufthansa owns a 30% minus one share stake in bmi but intends to raise the stake to 80% by acquiring 50% plus one share from bmi founder Sir Michael Bishop.
Scandinavian carrier SAS AB (SAS.SK) owns the remaining 20% in bmi.
The purchase of Bishop's BMI stake would mark a further step in Lufthansa's rapid expansion.
Having acquired the airline that emerged from the failure of Swissair in 2007, Lufthansa embarked on a buying spree in 2008, taking a 19% stake in a U.S. budget carrier and 45% of the parent of a small Brussels airline, SN Holding SA.
Lufthansa also plans to fully acquire Austrian Airlines AG (AUA.VI)
The commission currently is conducting an in-depth investigation of Lufthansa's takeover of SN Holding, the parent company of Brussels Airlines. The commission's initial investigation of that deal showed the combined carriers "could significantly impede effective competition," particularly for routes between Belgium and Germany and Belgium and Switzerland.