Lufthansa is determined to take a majority stake in British airline Bmi. Despite Bmi insisting that no decision had been taken concerning its ownership, Lufthansa chief financial officer Stephan Gemkow considers the structure of Bmi’s ownership to mean that negotiations would not be required to complete the deal:
“There are options that put us in a position to acquire the majority of BMI...we are determined to exercise these options.”
Long-term shareholder Lufthansa has said it is planning to take control and within law, can buy a 50% stake plus one share for £229 million between December 2008 and June 2009. The German carrier is Europe’s second-largest airline.
BMI’s 12% presence at Heathrow is considered to be worth in excess of $2.6 billion, a sum which would deliver a huge profit should Lufthansa decide to sell the airline. British Airways and Virgin Atlantic have previously confirmed interest in purchasing Bmi.
