IAG prepared for Bankia to sell stake

Investors are interested in buying the bailed-out Spanish bank Bankia's 12 per cent stake in IAG, the owner of British Airways, according to IAG's chief executive, Willie Walsh.

He said yesterday: "There are investors interested in replacing Bankia, and in my opinion, it is not a question of if, but when they are going to sell."

Mr Walsh said he was open to other airlines coming on board as shareholders as long as they remained "neutral".