British Airways (BA, London Heathrow) parent, the International Airlines Group (IAG), will likely submit a third, more substantial bid for Aer Lingus (EI, Dublin International) after the Irish carrier spurned IAG's two previous attempts citing the undervaluation of its business.

Bloomberg news says the new offer could entail as much as EUR2.50 (USD2.90) per share, up from the EUR2.40 (USD2.74) made in the previous offering. The IAG's last proposal, rejected late last year, valued Aer Lingus at EUR 1.28 billion.

Both of Aer Lingus's largest shareholders, Ryanair (FR, Dublin International) (29.8%) and the Irish government (25.1%), have expressed a willingness to dispose of their respective stakes.

"We’ve been actively looking for people to make an offer. Something has to happen, be that IAG or someone else,” Ryanair's chief marketing officer Kenny Jacobs told the TravelWeekly magazine last week.

IAG, whose CEO Willie Walsh was a former Aer Lingus boss, is said to be particularly interested in Aer Lingus's London Heathrow slots and would also seek to develop the carrier's Dublin International transatlantic operations. Dublin is seen as particularly appealing given its access to US Customs and Immigration Pre-clearance.