Ryanair has refused to confirm or deny whether it has been lined up to buy low-cost airline Bmibaby.
Castle Donington airline group BMI, parent company of Bmibaby, revealed on Monday it had signed a preliminary "non-exclusive" sale agreement with an unnamed airline based in the European Union.
It comes four weeks after BMI announced a different business – which was based in the UK – was interested in buying its no-frills subsidiary.
BMI said the second potential buyer had airline operations in several European countries, but refused to give any more details.
Dublin-based airline Ryanair yesterday would not confirm or deny it was the airline in question.
Meanwhile, German-based Intro Aviation GmbH, which specialises in turning around ailing airlines, said yesterday it had been in discussions with BMI about buying Bmibaby but was now no longer interested. Chief executive Peter Oncken said: "We haven't submitted any offer."
Bmibaby, which is thought to have never returned a profit in its 10-year history, made a loss of about £100 million last year.
BMI will not name either of the two potential buyers or provide any details about proposed deals.
A sale to one of the two bidders is set to be announced in the next few weeks. Many analysts believe the UK-based bidder is a business unconnected to air travel.
BMI hinted that the Bmibaby name could be ditched as part of a takeover deal. It is believed the airline's head office would continue to be close to East Midlands Airport.
Bmibaby has 14 aircraft and employs 450 people, including 80 at its head office at Donington Hall. It operates more than 30 routes from East Midlands. Ryanair also serves more than 30 destinations from the airport.
In January, BMI itself was sold to International Airlines Group (IAG) – the owner of British Airways – by German owner Lufthansa for £172.5 million.
As part of the deal, IAG asked Lufthansa to sell Bmibaby before the larger takeover is complete, by the end of March.
Virgin Atlantic yesterday criticised the decision of Government watchdog the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) not to scrutinise AIG's takeover of BMI.
Virgin claims the deal would reduce competition in UK air travel.
The OFT referred the matter to the European Commission.
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