Turkish Airlines announced that Air Europa has accepted its €300 million ($350 million) offer to purchase a minority stake in the indebted Spanish airline.

In a statement to the Istanbul Stock Exchange regulator (KAP), the Turkish national carrier said that "the binding offer submitted has been accepted by Air Europa" and procedures to finalize the deal have begun.

"The deal involves an investment of €300 million, most of which is in the form of a capital increase," which will then be converted into a stake, the size of which will be determined in the coming months.

"The percentage of the minority stake will be finalized after technical and financial adjustments, which will be made upon completion of the transaction," the statement said.

Media outlets in Spain and Turkey indicate a stake of around 26%, AFP reported.

Turkish Airlines said the process should be completed within 6 to 12 months, subject to approval by the relevant regulatory authorities, including the Spanish government.

The airline has submitted a binding offer to Globalia, the Spanish tourism group that owns 80% of Air Europa's shares.

The remaining 20% is owned by IAG, the owner of British Airways.

This move comes two weeks after competitors Lufthansa and Air France-KLM withdrew from negotiations to acquire a stake in the Spanish airline.

On August 7, Turkish Airlines informed KAP that it had decided to submit a binding offer to acquire a minority stake in Air Europa.

The company said that the complementary nature of its own global passenger and cargo network and Air Europa's strong position in the Iberian Peninsula and Latin America would "contribute to achieving significant and rapid growth in the Latin American market" and create new revenue channels.

Last year, IAG withdrew its offer to acquire the Spanish carrier outright due to regulatory restrictions. | BGNES