IAG Cleared to Purchase bmi

European Commission regulators have approved IAG's acquisition of bmi from Lufthansa, subject to certain conditions. See Alessandro Torello & Matthew Curtin, EU OKs IAG's Proposed Buy of bmi, Subject to Conditions, Wall St. J., March 30, 2012 (available here). IAG will need to surrender 14 daily slot pairs at Heathrow airport and agree to carry connecting passengers for the long-haul flights of other airlines operating out of Heathrow. The deal will give IAG control over a majority of the slots at Heathrow, which is especially important in light of the airport's capacity constraints.