Look, there’s no way Virgin are going to buy bmi – they can’t afford it (not at a price that’s seen as sensible by BBW/Bishop anyway), and in any case Lufthansa still want bmi.

What is at issue here is not whether Lufthansa want bmi anymore, but rather how much they pay for it – not only in terms of the shares they end up buying, but also the further finance they may have to inject into the airline once they’ve got it. A deal was agreed a long time ago, but Lufthansa now have one view about whether they’re getting what they agreed to buy, Bish has another. It may well be settled in court, but whether Bish wins or Lufthansa wins, I don’t see Lufthansa walking away – all that will happen if Lufthansa wins is that they will end up having to spend less money overall (because Bish has no other realistic options right now – he’ll have to settle for a lower price) than they would if Bish wins.

Andy