EU: Still Wants Lufthansa Clarifications On Austrian Deal
July 20 2009 - 6:57AM
Dow Jones News
The European Commission is still looking to get clarification
from the German airline Deutsche Lufthansa AG (LHA.XE) regarding
its planned takeover of the troubled Austrian Airlines AG (AUA.VI),
before deciding on whether to give the deal merger clearance.
Commission officials had technical discussions with Lufthansa
over the weekend, said the commission's antitrust spokesman,
Jonathan Todd, adding that it is "still waiting for clarifications
from Lufthansa."
The head of the European Union's competition authority, Neelie
Kroes, has offered to meet with Lufthansa's chief executive to
discuss the matter, but hasn't heard back from the company yet,
Todd added.
Lufthansa has set July 31 as the final deadline for getting
antitrust clearance from Brussels, without which the deal can't be
concluded.
-By Peppi Kiviniemi, Dow Jones Newswires; +3227411483;
peppi.kiviniemi@dowjones.com