Turkish Airlines is almost ready to put forward a binding offer for a piece of privately owned Spanish carrier Air Europa.
According to a report from Reuters, Turkish Airlines executives discussed their tentative bid during an earnings call on Wednesday.
“We are preparing to provide a binding offer very soon,” one official said. “However, we have not come to that stage yet. As soon as we have the board approval and board decision we will announce it publicly.”
The executives said they are interested in Air Europa because its flight network, centered mainly on the Iberian Peninsula and Latin America, complements Turkish Airlines’ routes.
It is not clear if any other airlines are currently vying for the 20% stake in Air Europa. Air France-KLM withdrew from negotiations last month, and on Tuesday, Germany’s Lufthansa Group did the same.
Air Europa, which is owned by the Hidalgo family through its holding company Globalia, is looking to raise cash to pay back about $546 million in loans it borrowed from the Spanish government during the COVID-19 pandemic. According to European media, the family has put off some potential bidders by valuing its airline at $1.1 billion.
If Turkish Airlines is successful with its offer, the carrier would become one of the very few non-European companies to own a piece of a European airline.
Air Europa is the third-largest airline in Spain, behind Iberia and low-cost carrier Vueling.
