British Airways said yesterday it had received more than 50 approaches regarding the planned disposal of Go, its low-cost arm.
KLM, the Dutch flag carrier, said Buzz, its British no-frills subsidiary, had obtained the preliminary information memorandum from Goldman Sachs, the investment bank appointed by BA to oversee the sale.
EasyJet, the low-cost airline that floated in London last week, said it had also obtained the memorandum, but said "the more we look at it, the less it makes sense for us".
KLM insisted that the primary motivation for looking at the document was to glean "competitive information" on Go. KLM did not rule out bidding for Go, however. "We are looking at every possibility, but no decision has been made at the moment," KLM said.
BA said it had called for firm expressions of interest to be submitted by December 8th, when potential bidders would receive a more detailed prospectus.
KLM is the second large airline in recent days to declare its interest in Go. Earlier this week Iberia, the Spanish flag carrier, said it had sought information on Go. Iberia's interest is widely seen as defensive because of Go's extensive network in Spain - six of its 20 routes are to Spanish destinations.
KLM faces similar competitive pressures with Go posing a direct threat to its own operations at Stansted, the low-cost Buzz operation, as well as the KLM British shuttle service to Amsterdam.
