No need to rely on FT posts for this information, when the information is published:
"Lufthansa's most significant derivative position recorded on its balance sheet relates to its holding in U.K.-based airline, British Midland Airways Ltd. (BMI). At Dec. 31, 2006, Lufthansa included a liability of €212 million within current derivative financial instruments, which relates to the estimated negative market value of a put option granted to the main shareholder of BMI.
Lufthansa currently owns 30% minus one share of the group and has a call option to buy the share-holding of 50% plus one share between December 2008 and June 2009. In turn, the current holder of the stake, Sir Michael Bishop, has a valid put option to sell the stake, valued at £229 million when the original deal was concluded in 1999, to Lufthansa, exercisable until June 2009. We have not included the value of the put option within our adjusted debt figure since the likely increase in value of the BMI stake following the conclusion of "open Skies" aviation treaty makes it uncertain whether the put will be exercised at the agreed price."
Quoted from page 12 of
http://www.lufthansa-financials.de/s...aug%202007.pdf (a Standard & Poor's analysis of Lufthansa from August 2007)
SmilingBoy.