 The Qantas board accepted APA's offer on 14 December |
The group buying the Australian airline Qantas has voluntarily asked the government's Foreign Investment Review Board to investigate its bid. Airline Partners Australia is led by Macquarie Bank and Texas Pacific and is structured to meet rules that Qantas must be majority Australian-owned.
Peter Costello, Treasurer of the Australian Government, says the bid will be rigorously scrutinised.
He can block the buyout if he decides it is not in the national interest.
But the Prime Minister John Howard says he would prefer the government to avoid making decisions about who owns companies.
"It's far better to have a situation where markets and owners of shares determine what happens to a company rather than governments", he told reporters.
Airline Partners Australia has offered 11bn Australian dollars ($8.6bn; �4.4bn) for Qantas.
There is public concern that the new owners may cut routes and jobs, although the consortium says it does not intend to break up the airline or cut regional services.
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