EU antitrust regulators halt for now probe into IAG's Air Europa deal

EU antitrust regulators last month temporarily halted their investigation into British Airways owner IAG's E400m bid to buy out Air Europa, according to a European Commission update on its site on Monday. The EU competition enforcer had been poised to hit IAG with an antitrust warning regarding the deal in a sign that it wanted the carrier to beef up its package of remedies submitted last month, sources had told Reuters. "We can confirm that on 1 March 2024 the Commission stopped the clock in its investigation into the acquisition of Air Europa by IAG, with effect as of 9 February 2024," a Commission spokesperson said, adding the enforcer had requested certain data. "Once the missing information is supplied by the parties, the clock is re-started and the legal deadline for the Commission’s decision is then adjusted accordingly." The Commission's previous deadline to decide on the deal was June 7. IAG and Air Europa scrapped a previous deal in 2021 after their remedies failed to address EU competition concerns.<br/>