Lufthansa set to buy parts of Air Berlin-source

Lufthansa is poised to agree a deal to buy assets from insolvent Air Berlin, a person familiar with the matter told Reuters, ahead of a deadline Thursday. The airline is set to buy Air Berlin's Niki leisure unit, its LG Walter regional airline and some additional short-haul aircraft, the source said Wednesday. "The deal with Lufthansa is done, there is agreement," the person said, adding that no contract had been signed yet. Lufthansa declined to say whether it was set to sign a deal, saying only it was confident it would meet the deadline for negotiations. Air Berlin said late last month that negotiations with Lufthansa and EasyJet would continue until Oct 12. The operations up for grabs also include access to take-off and landing slots at Air Berlin's hubs in Tegel in the German capital and Dusseldorf. <br/>