BRUSSELS (Reuters) – EU antitrust enforcers have extended their deadline for a decision on British Airways and Iberia owner International Airlines Group’s 500-million-euro ($589.5 million) bid for Spain’s Air Europa to Dec. 3, an EU filing showed.
The European Commission, which opened a full-scale investigation last month on concerns that the deal would reduce competition on Spanish local and international routes, had previously set a Nov. 5 deadline.
Since the start of the pandemic, the EU competition regulator has extended its deadlines in a number of merger cases to allow companies more time to gather information from clients and rivals necessary to assess deals.
IAG may have to offer concessions, such as giving up certain routes, to secure EU approval for the Air Europa deal.
($1 = 0.8481 euros)
(Reporting by Foo Yun Chee; editing by Jason Neely)
