APA drops Qantas takeover bid

Airline Partners Australia, the private equity consortium that failed in its AUS$11bn(€6.7bn) takeover bid for Qantas Airways, says it will not renew its offer.

In a statement to the Australian Stock Exchange, the consortium, led by Macquarie Bank and US buyout group TPG, said "in the current environment and circumstances, a renewed offer on terms acceptable to APA would not be likely to succeed".

APA lost its bid for Qantas earlier this month after it failed to win the 50% of shares it needed to secure a two-week extension to try and garner the 70% it needed to seal the deal.