Qatar Airways, the state airline of Arab state Qatar has approached American Airlines Group (NASDAQ:AAL) over the possible purchase of a 10% stake.
In a stock exchange filing today, the US carrier said it had received a letter from Qatar Airways indicating it wanted to make a significant investment.
American added that it had not solicited the potential investment, but added the Qataris want to buy at least US$808mln worth of its shares.
“The proposed investment by Qatar Airways was not solicited by American Airlines and would in no way change the company's Board composition, governance, management or strategic direction."
Like American and also UK carrier Britsh Airways, Qatar Airways is part of the OneWorld marketing alliance that also includes Cathay Pacific, Iberia and Qantas.
The Arab state is seen as a major ally of the US even though four of its neighbours recently closed their borders claiming it was as supporter of terrorism and Iran.
This included all trade and air passenger traffic through their territories.
The US State Department subsequently rebuked Saudi Arabia and the UAE, two of the four, for failing to produce evidence for their actions, though US president Donald Trump has repeatedly expressed his support saying the move was 'hard but neccessary'.
Shares in American rose 5.6% to US$51.16 in pre-market trading.