BRUSSELS, July 22 (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)
International Airlines (IAG)
