Qatar Airways on Wednesday said it won't proceed with a plan
to acquire an equity stake in American Airlines.
In June, Qatar said it planned to initially buy 4.75% of
American stock, the most allowed without advance approval from American's board
of directors. At the time, Qatar said it aimed to purchase up to 10% of
American.
In a statement on Wednesday, Qatar said, "Further
review of the proposed financial investment, taking into account the latest
public disclosure of American Airlines, has demonstrated that the investment no
longer meets our objectives. Qatar Airways will continue to investigate
alternative investment opportunities in the United States of America and
elsewhere that do meet our objectives."
On July 12, American filed a Securities and Exchange
Commission document saying that Qatar's plan to invest in American Airlines was
unsolicited, and that it would continue to lobby for a U.S. government
crackdown on Gulf carriers Qatar, Emirates and Etihad.
American, Delta and United say that the three state-owned Gulf
airlines have violated aviation agreements by receiving massive subsidies, resulting
in an unlevel playing field. The three Gulf carriers disagree.
Further, American said it would end codeshare agreements
with the Qatar and Etihad due to the ongoing dispute. The last flights under those
codeshares will occur on March 24.