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Executive says Turkish Airlines has prepared a binding offer to buy Spain's Air Europa

Turkish Airlines still has a strong interest in purchasing a stake in Spanish carrier Air Europa, and is preparing a legally binding offer. A company executive stated this during a earnings call held on Wednesday.

"We will be presenting a binding proposal very soon." We are not yet at that stage. "We will make public the decision and approval of the board as soon as it is made," said the executive.

Turkish Airlines' investor relations and financial executives answered questions during the earnings call.

The executive stated that the primary reason for interest in the Spanish carrier was that it complements Turkish Airlines' flight network, which has a strong presence throughout Latin America and Iberia.

Lufthansa renounced its bid to acquire a stake in Air Europa on Tuesday after Air France-KLM announced that it was pulling out of the deal last week.

Earlier reports stated that the process was delayed due to disagreements among members of the Hidalgo Family, who own Air Europa, as well as concerns expressed by interested airlines about the structure of this deal.

Air Europa, a Spanish airline that connects Madrid to large Spanish cities throughout Europe and Latin America and flies across Spain, is looking to raise money to pay back a government-issued loan.

In June, the Turkish flag carrier announced that it had begun non-binding discussions over an Air Europa potential investment. (Reporting and editing by Ezgi Erkoyun, Ceyda Kaglayan)

(source: Reuters)