Today International Airlines Group (IAG) and Globalia have announced that specific points in the original acquisition agreement between Iberia and Air Europa have been amended. The deal was made in November 2019, under which Iberia would be getting the entire share capital of Air Europa.

Iberia will have to pay €500 million to Air Europa, half-priced from the initially specified €1 billion. The condition was revised to adapt to the current situation in the market, heavily impacted by Covid-19. Although IAG offered to pay the amount in IAG shares, which Air Europa would not have an opportunity to sell for five years, the parties eventually agreed to postpone the payment until 2026 but the purchaser will pay in cash.

Luis Gallego, IAG’s chief executive, said: “Both Iberia and IAG are demonstrating their resilience to face the deepest crisis in aviation’s history. Being part of a large group is the best guarantee to overcome current market challenges, which will also benefit Air Europa once the transaction is completed. I am pleased that we have reached an agreement with Globalia to defer payment until well into the expected recovery in air travel following the end of the pandemic and when we expect to be realizing significant synergies resulting from the transaction.”

Air Europa currently has 52 aircraft in its fleet compared to 68 in 2019.