SPAIN: Qatar Airways to Sell into IAG Buyback and Hold Its Stake
MADRID, Spain
- Qatar Airways Group Q.C.S.C. will sell shares into the final International Consolidated Airlines Group S.A. (IAG) buyback so its stake stays at 25.1434 per cent.
- IAG launched a EUR 500 million euros (USD 565 million) programme, the last slice of the EUR 1.5 billion (USD 1.69 billion) return of excess cash announced on 26 February 2026.
- Up to EUR 126 million (USD 142 million) of that comes from Qatar Airways. Up to EUR 374 million (USD 422 million) is bought in the market.
- Sales are pro rata. Qatar Airways does not increase its holding and is not diluted when the bought shares are cancelled.
- Purchases run from 5 October 2026 to no later than 26 February 2027. Morgan Stanley Europe SE and Goldman Sachs Bank Europe SE buy in sequence on the London Stock Exchange and the Spanish stock exchanges.
- The ceiling is 210,000,000 ordinary shares, 4.55 per cent of issued capital. Acquired shares are cancelled after the treasury holding.
- Qatar Airways Group is the only strategic shareholder in IAG. The buyback notice puts its voting stake at 25.1434 per cent. August 2026 registry filings list the same 1,242,630,613 shares as about 28.2 per cent of the share count. The next disclosed holders are funds: Capital Research and Management Company at 5.43 per cent, BlackRock at 2.25 per cent, Vanguard Capital Management at 1.83 per cent, Artemis Investment Management at 1.27 per cent, Norges Bank Investment Management at 1.20 per cent and RWC Partners at 0.95 per cent. IAG itself holds about 5.1 per cent in treasury. No other airline or state is in the disclosed list. The rest is free float. EU rules cap non-EU control at 49 per cent, which is why Qatar Airways sells into the buyback rather than letting cancellation lift its stake.
Rate used: EUR 1 = USD 1.1294, 3 October 2026.
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