Paxman,
Nope. The IAA were not positioning to bid for NATS at the time of privatization. This was an example of the rumour mill running out of control. The IAA was actually involved in the sucessful bid by The Airline Group .... as air traffic management (ATM) consultants to the bid. A role for which they have already been paid. In effect, once the ink was dry on the 'bill of sale', IAA interest in NATS ended (at least as far as the PPP was concerned).
As Findo explained, the root of NATS ills lies in its' level of debt. On paper, they should be one of the healthiest ATSPs around, given that traffic = revenue. Their current predicament shows all too clearly the pitfalls of privatisation in this arena. Having said that, it takes something special to sc**w it up this spectacularly.
Slan a chara.