German carrier Lufthansa is taking over UK carrier bmi by purchasing 50 percent of stake owned by bmi's chairman Sir Michael Bishop. The deal will give Lufthansa the second highest amount of control of air traffic from London Heathrow— British Airways is first. The deal is set to be completed by January 16.
Lufthansa already owned 30 percent of bmi's stake and was the second-largest shareholder. The remaining 20 percent of bmi is owned by Sweden-based Scandinavian Airlines (SAS).
According to Karsten Benz, Lufthansa's vice president for Europe, there will be no immediate job cuts at BMI. He referred to Lufthansa's successful integration of Swiss Airlines as an example, iterating his confidence in doing the same with bmi.