British Airways has approached several private equity groups about a potential consortium takeover of Spanish airline Iberia, in which it already owns a 10% stake.
'British Airways is considering how to use its 10% holding in Iberia following Iberia's announcement that it has received a bid approach,' BA said in a statement which did not exclude selling the stake.
'As part of this process, the airline has approached a number of private equity companies about making a consortium offer for Iberia', it said.
However, BA has ruled out an independent bid for the Spanish flag carrier.
Iberia had received a takeover approach last month from US investment fund Texas Pacific Group (TPG), which said it planned to launch a bid at €3.60 per share or €3.4 billion in total. However, Iberia has not yet issued an official response on the bid.
BA, which did not give the names of any potential private equity partners, added today that any consortium bid would not involve further capital investment on its part.
As well as a private equity partner, the consortium was likely to include one or more Spanish partners, the airline added.
