chairman of Spain's Caja Madrid, the biggest shareholder in Iberia with 23%, said an agreement on a merger between the airline and British Airways was close.
"I believe the operation is close, that's my impression," Miguel Blesa told journalists as he presented the un- listed bank's 2008 results yesterday.Blesa is also deputy chairman of Iberia.When asked what was blocking a merger agreement, Blesa said the share split, corporate governance questions and the location of the combined group's headquarters all needed to be resolved."The perception now I think is that the share exchange will not be 60-40," he said of the likely stakes to be held by BA and Iberia. "Iberia is now worth more. It will be closer to 55-45."
British Airways' chief executive Willie Walsh is expected in Madrid today for talks with Iberia chairman Fernando Conte and other Oneworld alliance bosses.
"The talks are ongoing, no timescales have been set," a BA spokeswoman said.
When the two announced last July they were discussing a merger, British Airways expected to secure around 65% of the combined group, but since then its shares have plunged, worsened by a profit warning in January.Together with the pound's recent slide against the euro, Iberia's market capitalisation is now higher than BA's.
Iberia shares jumped 3.3% to 1.87 after the announcement. BA finished 4p down at 116p, partly because of massive travel disruption at Heathrow, its London hub.
BA cancelled all short-haul flights and long-haul journeys before 5pm because of heavy snow.A spokesman said the weather also disrupted other airlines, and the disruption was likely to continue today.
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