British Airways has dviested its 18.25% stake in Australia’s flagship carrier, Qantas Airways and inspired a frenzied buying rush that involved over 130 domestic and international investors when shares in the flying kangaroo resumed trading on Thursday. Following the divestment announcement from Europe’s second largest airline, Qantas requested an immediate halt in share trading, only to inspire a mad scramble that was three times oversubscribed, raising over A$1.1 million around $757 million for BA.
BA’s stake was offered to both Australian and international investors at A$3.28 $2.26 per share, five cents below the price before Tuesday’s suspension of trading. In its first BA-less day for...