BA, Texas Pacific vie for Spanish carrier

LONDON (AFP) - British Airways (BA) said on Tuesday that it had teamed up with a consortium led by US investment fund Texas Pacific Group (TPG) with a view to bidding for Spanish carrier Iberia.

BA, which already owns 10 per cent of Iberia's shares, said it was examining a joint bid with TPG, Vista Capital, Inversiones Ibersuizas and Quercus Equity, but there was no guarantee that this would actually lead to an offer for the Spanish carrier.

In a filing with the London stock exchange, BA said it had earlier ruled out investing more in Iberia or bidding independently for the airline.

BA gave no indication of any bid price level.

On March 30, investment fund Texas Pacific Group (TPG) said it was considering a bid of 3.60 euros (4.80 dollars) for Iberia, valuing the company at 3.4 billion euros.

Spanish press agency Europe Press said Monday the joint BA/TPG offer would ensure that 51 percent of Iberia's capital remained in the hands of stable Spanish shareholders.

A tie-up would create a carrier of almost the same size as Air France-KLM, the biggest European airline at present.