Jet Airways may bid for BMI

MUMBAI: Naresh Goyal, chairman, Jet Airways, now has a new object of desire, bmi, which is UK’s second largest airline.

Jet has been in the race for acquiring a majority stake in bmi since December 2007 but now UTVi learns that it could be considering the option of putting in a joint bid with British Airways valued at $400 million.

Sources say a proposal to the same effect was presented to the British Airways board last week.

bmi has been on the block for almost a year now, and reports suggest that Lufthansa and Ethihad are eager suitors… Etihad has reportedly already put in a bid for $600 million.

As the owner of 11% of the take-off and landing slots at Heathrow Airport, bmi is seen as a very valuable asset, especially as the value of its 83 slot pairs – the largest portfolio after British Airways – has sky rocketed following last year’s open skies deal between the European Union and the US, which opens up Heathrow to new airlines from April 2008.

For Jet Airways, bmi could prove to be critical as it is finding it difficult to break into the European market from its hub in Brussels as other European airlines are not keen to partner with it.

So, with bmi in its pocket, it could piggy back on its formidable presence across Europe and also use Heathrow as a second international hub.

http://www.utvi.com/industry-news/aviation-industry-news/10327/jet-may-bid-for-uk-based-bmi.html