BA and Iberia bid to have rival on TAP

British Airways and its merger partner Iberia are understood to be poised to bid for the Portuguese flag carrier TAP, which the country’s government is being forced to sell.

By The Newsroom

Published 9th May 2011, 11:04 BST

The airlines, which joined forces in January to create International Airlines Group (IAG), are reported to have already held informal talks with TAP. The Portuguese government is being forced to privatise the airline as a condition of its £68bn bail-out by the European Union and International Monetary Fund.

An investment bank has been hired to conduct a formal auction of TAP, which is expected to be launched later this summer.

IAG chief executive Willie Walsh is understood to be keen to expand the group aggressively, and has reportedly drawn up a list of 12 other airlines that he would consider buying. TAP is thought to be top of the list.

Newly-formed IAG is already the third largest scheduled airline group in Europe and the sixth largest in the world, based on revenues, with BA and Iberia flying to more than 200 destinations in total.