Agreeing to pay £172.5m for bmi last year was a smart move by International Consolidated Airlines (IAG). But the European Commission is thought to be unhappy and, unless the British Airways owner cedes some ground, it may not rubber stamp the deal until the autumn.
IAG has until 30 March to negotiate concessions, which will mean giving up valuable take-off and landing slots at Heathrow. Stephen Furlong, an analyst at broker Davy, thinks IAG won't want to give up more than 20 per cent of bmi's slots. If that’s not enough, regulators could extend their investigation by another six months. "I'd be surprised if it doesn't eventually get through," says Mr Furlong. Still, a lengthy delay would be bad news for bmi which is running out of cash again.
