Lufthansa has reached an agreement with Airberlin to acquire
a large portion of its assets, including leisure airline Niki and 20 additional
aircraft, for €210 million.
Lufthansa is using the acquisition as part of its plan to
grow its low-cost carrier, Eurowings. Lufthansa CEO Carsten Spohr expects
EU approval for the transaction by the end of this year, according to Reuters. Airberlin,
which filed
for insolvency in August, will cease operations at the end of this month.
Airberlin
is still in talks with EasyJet to acquire some of its remaining assets,
according to the carrier.