Apax contacts Gestair for joint Iberia bid -paper

MADRID, April 17 (Reuters) - British private equity firm Apax [APAX.UL] is talking with Spain's Gestair over the possibility of making a joint bid for Spanish airline Iberia (IBLA.MC), financial newspaper Expansion reported on Tuesday.

The newspaper cited sources close to the talks as saying Apax had contacted Gestair, which leases planes and aircrew to Iberia through its subsidiary, Audeli, and also carries Iberia cargo through its Cygnus Air unit.

"Gestair believes Iberia has a lot of potential and would be a good investment in the medium term although it is waiting for a formal proposal from Apax," the sources told the newspaper.

Apax could gain from securing a Spanish partner since Iberia's rights to fly to Latin America are based on the majority of Iberia's capital remaining Spanish, the paper said.

Apax has previously declined to comment on its interest in Iberia and was not immediately available on Tuesday to comment on whether it had approached Gestair. No one was immediately available at Gestair.

Last month, U.S. private equity firm Texas Pacific Group [TPG.UL] offered an indicative 3.60 euros a share for Iberia in a 3.4 billion euro ($4.6 billion) bid.