THE German airline taking over Castle Donington-based BMI could be looking to buy other carriers, according to industry experts.

On Wednesday, it was announced that BMI chairman Sir Michael Bishop had agreed to sell his 50% stake to Lufthansa for £318m.

The German carrier already had a 30% stake in BMI. The latest deal will be completed in January.

Now analysts believe that Lufthansa's relative financial strength, combined with troubles in the airline industry, could see it go on a bargain-hunting spending spree.

Before the deal was struck to buy Sir Michael's shares in BMI, Lufthansa bought a 45% stake in Brussels Airlines.

It is believed that Lufthansa may also be considering taking stakes in Austrian Airlines, Italian flag carrier Alitalia and Sweden-based Scandinavian Airlines, which is the other stakeholder in BMI with 20%.

Lufthansa has declined to comment on the speculation.

But former BMI employee and airline industry expert John Strickland, who runs his own London-based aviation consultancy, said: "The BMI deal did not come as a surprise to the industry.

"Lufthansa had already taken on other airlines – and has since been linked with a number of others.

"I believe that Sir Michael got a good price for BMI – although my feeling is that the price had been agreed some time ago.

"I believe we could see further deals taking place."

Both Alitalia and Austrian Airlines have both been hit by the economic downturn and the rising cost of fuel.

But even Lufthansa, which flies to 194 airports, has 281 planes and last year flew 63 million people, has not been immune to the downturn.

This week, it announced that its third-quarter net profit had fallen by 75% – but this would not affect the BMI deal.

It has still not been made clear what the deal would mean for BMI's 4,300 staff – about 700 of whom are based at Castle Donington.

The airline's vice-president for Europe, Karsten Benz, says there will be no job cuts at BMI "for the time being".

But Lufthansa has refused to give further details until the deal is finalised.

The deal has prompted the GMB union to seek talks with both BMI and Lufthansa about the future of the workforce.

The GMB has 1,500 members working for BMI at East Midlands, Heathrow, Glasgow, Manchester, Cardiff and Belfast airports.

They include check-in staff, cabin crew, baggage handlers, office support staff, supervisors and management.

There has also been speculation that parts of the BMI business will be sold off.

As a group, BMI comprises three companies – the long-haul and mid-haul business; BMI Regional, which serves UK airports; and BMI Baby, its low-cost carrier.

Mr Strickland said: "I think Lufthansa will look very closely at BMI's position at Heathrow but I don't see BMI Baby and BMI Regional having much to offer."

Lufthansa has refused to comment on Virgin Atlantic's suggestion that BMI and Virgin combine their short-haul and long-haul networks.