The airline’s president foresees the takeover “without major variations from the price of the last negotiations”, which amounted to about 500 million plus the debt
Negotiations between Iberia and Air Europa for the takeover of the airline are still ongoing, but if an agreement is reached, the operation must receive approval from national and European competition authorities, something that is causing some complications for the time being. For this reason, the President of Iberia, Javier Sánchez-Prieto, confirmed this Wednesday that they are analyzing a new proposal to smooth out the operation for the CNMC and the European Commission.
In a meeting with the media, Sánchez-Prieto confirmed that they are analyzing which airlines may be the competitors of the group that would form Iberia and Air Europa (under IAG) on certain routes for which the authorities had “doubts” about competition. “We had a different vision from that of the Commission, so now we are thinking of a different proposal that meets all the concerns of the CNMC and Brussels,” explains the executive, who clearly positioned himself for a more favorable context. to “liberalisation” where there is a “certain concentration” of companies in order to continue to grow.
For the time being, it is an internal task of the airline that will present something that is still in the air in the event of an agreement with Air Europa. Last August, IAG acquired 20% of the capital of Air Europa through the conversion into capital of a EUR 100 million loan. But for the total takeover, negotiations are in the offing. Specifically, both companies have given themselves until March to decide whether to continue with the plans or take a different path from then on.
But the price of the surgery still stands. Asked about the current value of the company owned by Globalia, Sánchez-Prieto confirmed that “large variations on the price agreed in previous negotiations should not be expected”, while Air Europa was valued at around 500 million euros plus debt (almost 700 million euros). ).
One of the company’s spearheads is sustainability, especially given that Brussels airlines must use 2% SAF (biofuel based on aviation waste) in 2025, 5% in 2030 and more than 60% in 2050. Iberia has decided to anticipate requests and has committed to reaching 10% of SAF by 2025.
The problem with this biofuel is the lack of production and therefore the high cost that triples compared to the usual fuel. Sánchez-Prieto criticized that the authorities are not making a firm commitment to it, but he was confident that this will be the fuel used in the future, with the advantage that the same pipes are used to reach the planes, although he acknowledged that there is still “a time” for this to come to fruition.
To reduce emissions, the company is also modernizing its fleet. The airline presented its new A350 aircraft this Wednesday with a new Airbus standard with operational improvements that bring more efficiency and where the weight has been reduced by one ton.
On the other hand, the airline is going ahead with the decision to present an ERE next year. The president assured that they will sit down with the unions after Christmas to address these potential layoffs which will be “in no way comparable to other” staff cuts that have occurred at the airline in the past and affected thousands of workers.
Sánchez-Prieto did not want to put forward an estimated figure, but explained that it will be an ERE related to the organization of the company and the development of its activity in the future. Despite this, the company has just signed the new collective agreement with the workers with wage increases for all staff.
Source: La Verdad
I’m Ben Stock, a journalist and author at Today Times Live. I specialize in economic news and have been working in the news industry for over five years. My experience spans from local journalism to international business reporting. In my career I’ve had the opportunity to interview some of the world’s leading economists and financial experts, giving me an insight into global trends that is unique among journalists.
