EU: Airlines Lufthansa and Etihad not ‘in merger talks’

Germany’s Lufthansa is not in talks about Etihad Airways taking a stake in the German airline, two sources familiar with the matter said on Tuesday, denying an Italian newspaper report that said it was.

“A financial stake is out of the question at the moment,” one source, who is familiar with Lufthansa’s plans, said. A source familiar with state-owned Etihad also said Abu Dhabi would not want to pay for a stake in Lufthansa.

Il Messaggero earlier reported, without citing sources, that managers from both companies have for weeks been examining the possibility of Etihad buying a 30-40 percent stake in Lufthansa through a sale of new shares to the Abu Dhabi state-owned airline, as a precursor to a merger.

The report sent Lufthansa’s share price up by over 6 percent earlier on Tuesday before closing up 4.3 percent at 11.81 euros.

Media speculation has swirled around Etihad and Lufthansa in recent months as Etihad grapples with two loss-making European airlines in which it owns minority stakes – Alitalia and Air Berlin.

Lufthansa and Etihad last month signed a code-sharing deal linking up their route networks and said they would look at further cooperation after Lufthansa agreed to lease 38 crewed planes from Air Berlin.

The first source said Lufthansa was talking to Etihad, but about more codesharing and catering cooperation.

Full Content: Reuters

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