Formula 1 legend Lauda on podium to buy back airline Niki

Former Formula 1 champion Niki Lauda has secured pole position to buy back the Austrian airline he founded after beating rival bidder and British Airways owner International Consolidated Airlines Group (IAG).

The latter said it was “disappointed” after losing out in the battle to buy Niki, which was founded by Lauda in 2003, from joint administrators in Germany and Austria.

The BA owner was previously picked to buy insolvent airline Niki for up to €36.5 million (£32.1m), but the deal fell through after it was ruled that insolvency proceedings had to switch from Austria to Germany. The move threw open the bidding battle, allowing Lauda’s group Laudamotion to re-enter the fray.

The joint administrators of Niki, which was part of failed airline Air Berlin and one of the last of its assets to be sold off, said Laudamotion emerged as the “best bidder”.

IAG said it was “disappointed that Niki will not be able to develop and grow stronger as part of the group”.

Lauda, who moved into the airline industry in the 1980s and had sold Niki to Air Berlin in 2011, reportedly said he was pleased to have won the takeover tussle, stating: “There’s no doubt that I have always put my heart and soul into Niki.”

It is thought all of the airline’s 1,000-strong workforce is set to be kept on after the threetimes Formula 1 world champion reportedly improved his earlier offer. 0 The former racing driver has now overtaken rival bidder IAG