British Airways could join a consortium to bid for Iberia after Texas Pacific Group, the US buy-out firm, put the Spanish carrier into play with a €3.4bn (£2.3bn) takeover approach.

Iberia Friday said TPG had requested “corporate, accounting, tax and legal information” with a view to an indicative offer of €3.60 a share, 10 per cent below its close of €4 a share on Thursday. Europe’s fourth-largest airline said its board would consider a response over the next few days.