IAG in hunt for BMI
International Airlines Group (IAG) has confirmed to Insider it is interested in acquiring Derby-based airline BMI. Following days of speculation, IAG said the company was a target but admitted "the ball is in [BMI owner] Lufthansa's court".
IAG formed earlier this year earlier as the holding company for British Airways and Iberia.
Earlier this week, the company's chief executive Willie Walsh was reported as saying he was "keen to snap up BMI".
A spokesman for IAG confirmed this was the case but said the final decision lay with BMI's parent company Lufthansa.
According to press reports, the appeal of BMI lies in its Heathrow slots. Walsh said earlier this week that he was not looking at any other acquisitive targets.
BMI is headquartered in Castle Donington, Derby, alongside its low-cost airline Bmibaby, and has operations in Nottingham.
A spokesman for BMI told Insider: "Talks of takeovers in the industry are always ongoing – it is our policy not to comment on speculation."
Earlier this year, BMI said its budget Bmibaby division would axe its services from Manchester and Cardiff airports at the end of the summer.
The Castle Donington-based company said it needed to focus on its main markets "in the current economic climate".
In a statement, Bmibaby said: "In the current economic climate it is essential for bmibaby to focus on airports where the airline already has a strong market presence and where there are strong growth opportunities for the Bmibaby business.
"Bmibaby will therefore cease operations from Manchester Airport and from Cardiff Airport from the end of the summer 2011 flying schedule."
BMI secured revenues of $1.48bn (£854.7m) in 2009, down from the previous year's result of $1.52bn (£928.2m).
