British Airways said today it had no current plans to bid for Iberia, after a newspaper speculated it was preparing an offer for the Spanish carrier. BA said last week it had bought about another 3 percent of Iberia, taking its stake to 13.15 percent.
According to British newspapers, BA has not ruled out a bid. The airline sent a management team to Spain to talk to executives of investment bank Caja Madrid, which owns 23 percent of Iberia, the newspaper added. "It depends on the price. But we have made it clear that we will only do something in agreement," the newspaper quoted BA Chief Executive Willie Walsh as saying. But BA denied a bid was imminent. "We have absolutely no current plans to make a bid for Iberia," said a spokeswoman.
