Qantas shares in trading halt as BA to sell stake

11.00am

SYDNEY - Qantas Airways Ltd today requested a trading halt in its shares after it confirmed that it had been informed that British Airways Plc intends to sell its 18.25 per cent shareholding over the next 48 hours.

BA is seeking to sell its stake for around A$1.1 billion ($1.2 billion), the Australian Financial Review earlier reported.

Qantas said that the trading halt, which is effective immediately, was requested so that the market had a chance to absorb the news of the stake sale.

The halt is expected to continue until the commencement of trading on Friday September 10.

The paper cited stockbroking sources as saying that BA had approached firms seeking bids for its stake.

The UK airline has held an interest in Qantas for 11 years.

Institutional demand for the holding is likely to be strong, the paper said.

Qantas has been lobbying for a change to the 49 per cent restriction on foreign ownership of its stock.

It has also flagged an interest in forging a broader relationship with Singapore Airlines.

- AAP