Originally Posted by Reuters

BERLIN (Reuters) - The German government said it “greatly regrets” a decision by the European Commission to block Lufthansa’s planned purchase of airline Niki and it signalled insolvency for the Air Berlin (AB1.DE) subsidiary and the grounding of its flights.

“Due to the unexpected collapse in proceeds from the sale of Niki, it is possible that only a part of the government guaranteed loan from KfW (bank) to Air Berlin will be repaid,” said government spokesman Steffen Seibert in a statement.

“The government will do everything it can to limit the damage to the tax payer,” he added.

Originally Posted by Reuters

Air Berlin administrators had been holding fresh talks with others parties previously interested in Niki - British Airways’ parent IAG and Thomas Cook’s Condor.

But they said on Tuesday that no suitable offers were ready and that unless the deal was approved quickly, Niki would have to follow its parent and file for insolvency protection itself.

Lufthansa said it still planned to buy Air Berlin subsidiary LGW and would submit a revised proposal, including foregoing slots, to the Commission on Wednesday.

Originally Posted by Deutsche Welle

Austrian airline Niki is facing bankruptcy after German carrier Lufthansa has withdrawn its takeover bid for the former Air Berlin subsidiary amid antitrust concerns voiced by the European Union.

German flag carrier Lufthansa said Wednesday it was abandoning its efforts to acquire Niki, citing persistent objections by EU antitrust regulators against a possible tie-up between the two airlines.

Niki airline — founded by former Formula One champion Niki Lauda — is still part of insolvent carrier Air Berlin, which went bankrupt in August after losing a cash lifeline from its biggest shareholder Etihad Airways.

"Lufthansa informed Air Berlin and its insolvency managers that it will pursue the planned transaction without the purchase of Niki," Lufthansa said in a statement.