Finance
Exclusive-Lufthansa abandons process to buy stake in Spain's Air Europa
Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on August 5, 2025
2 min readLast updated: January 22, 2026
Global Banking & Finance Review®
Company
Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on August 5, 2025
2 min readLast updated: January 22, 2026
Lufthansa has withdrawn its bid for a stake in Air Europa, leaving Turkish Airlines as the sole bidder. The decision follows complex negotiations and family disagreements.
By Ilona Wissenbach and Joanna Plucinska
FRANKFURT/LONDON (Reuters) -Lufthansa has abandoned its plan to bid for a stake in Spanish airline Air Europa, a spokesperson for the German group said on Tuesday, only a week after Air France-KLM announced it was also dropping out of the process.
That leaves Turkish Airlines as the only known remaining bidder. British Airways-owner IAG owns a 20% stake in Air Europa but failed to get regulatory approval for a full takeover in 2024 after years of talks.
"After thorough analyses and intense negotiations, we have at this stage decided against further engaging in a capital contribution and shareholding in Air Europa," the Lufthansa spokesperson said.
Globalia, the family-owned company controlling Air Europa, declined to comment. Turkish Airlines did not respond to a request for comment.
Lufthansa Chief Executive Carsten Spohr last week said negotiations for a possible stake in Air Europa were difficult, with sources saying any proposed deal would be complex given IAG's existing stake.
The process has faced delays due in part to disagreements between members of the Hidalgo family, which owns Air Europa, and concerns from interested airlines on the structure of the deal, Reuters previously reported.
(Reporting by Ilona Wissenbach and Joanna Plucinska, Additional reporting by Ceyda Caglayan and Inti Landauro, editing by Inti Landauro, Kirsten Donovan)
Lufthansa has decided to abandon its plan to bid for a stake in Spanish airline Air Europa.
Turkish Airlines is currently the only known remaining bidder for Air Europa.
Lufthansa faced difficulties due to the complexity of the deal, particularly because of IAG's existing 20% stake in Air Europa.
The process has faced delays due to disagreements within the Hidalgo family, which owns Air Europa, and concerns from interested airlines regarding the deal's structure.
The spokesperson stated that after thorough analyses and intense negotiations, Lufthansa decided against further engaging in a capital contribution and shareholding in Air Europa.
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