Qantas rejects takeover approach

Some politicians are up in arms about a potential sale

Australian airline Qantas has rejected an A$10.9bn ($8.6bn) takeover bid from a consortium led by Macquarie Bank.

The airline said the bid, which was made last month, was inadequate.

Speculation about the future of Qantas has proved controversial, with unions and some politicians saying a bid could result in thousands of job losses.

But Prime Minister John Howard has insisted his government will not stand in the way of a deal nor alter ownership laws to block a bid.

Current ownership laws mean that no investor can own more than 25% of the firm's shares while no foreign company can hold a majority stake.

To meet these requirements, Macquarie had brought on board a wide range of potential partners including private equity firm Texas Pacific and Canadian firm Onex.

Qantas said the terms of the bid approach were "not acceptable".