British Airways Vows to Bide its Time on Iberia

British Airways will be patient in its effort to acquire Spanish carrier Iberia but does not expect to raise the 3.4 billion euros offer, its chief executive said last week. British Airways is part of a consortium led by private equity firm Texas Pacific Group that has bid 3.60 euros a share for Iberia.

Iberia did not discuss the offer at its monthly board meeting last week, a spokeswoman for the Spanish airline said, despite a previous commitment to do so. Iberia’s board had been expected to reject the offer in the hopes of receiving a higher bid, a source familiar with the situation said on Wednesday.

British Airways CEO Willie Walsh said he did not know which way the board was leaning but said British Airways was not going to be easily brushed aside. “We’re going to be patient here,” said Walsh. “We would encourage the board to respond one way or another.”

British Airways’ expansion plan, however, has its limits. Walsh said the airline is not interested in acquiring a 20 percent stake in UK rival bmi, because it would have few prospects to control the airline.

Earlier this month, Scandinavian airline SAS said it planned to sell the bmi stake as part of a plan aimed at trimming costs and focusing on core markets amid fierce competition.