British Airways owner IAG has agreed to buy Lufthansa's British unit bmi for 172.5 million pounds ($270 million), seeing off rival bidder Virgin in the race to grab loss-making bmi's coveted runway slots at London Heathrow. The all-cash deal, which requires regulatory approval, would give IAG more than half the daily take-off and landing slots at Heathrow, Europe's busiest airport, which is operating at full capacity after plans to build a third runway were scrapped.
Virgin Atlantic, which tabled a rival offer for bmi earlier this month, said it would ask anti-trust regulators to block the deal as it would stifle competition and push up prices.