I actually doubt that this merger will ever take place but could someone out there please explain to me what attraction this deal actually has to Iberia and BA?
If I were Spanish, I would not touch this idea with a bargepole. I, for one, was very grateful that I was banking with Santander and not with one of those good-old "cast-iron" British banks like RBS or HBOS in recent times.
Anyone who wants to merge with a company whose pension fund deficit exceeds the total possible value of the airline should think very carefully indeed. (It's "Follow the yellow brick road" stuff.)
Mind you, a Spanish takeover of BA might just be interesting and would make up for the losses they sustained in 1588.