Reports that Lufthansa is planning to take over SAS sent shares soaring on Thursday.

The news comes after months of speculation that the major Scandinavian carrier would be acquired by another carrier following continued hardship amid expensive restructuring efforts.

SAS shares climbed by as much as 15% on Thursday whilst Lufthansa shares closed up 0.6%  by lunchtime. SAS stock has plummeted over the last year, down a whopping 54% against a climb of 23% in Stockholm’s broad index.

However, some have expressed scepticism over the rumours. Hans Erik Jacobsen, an Oslo analyst for Fondsfinans, said that talk of a takeover had come and gone several times before, adding that he didn’t think the most recent speculation was any different. He said that it’s not likely that Lufthansa would be interested in buying SAS given its current instability.

Wolfgang Mayrhuber, chief executive of Lufthansa, said that his carrier wouldn’t pursue any further acquisitions until it had a chance to make its most recent purchases profitable. In 2009, the German flag carrier had acquired several carriers including BMI, Austrian Airlines and Brussels Airlines.

Despite the comments, Lufthansa chairman Juergen Weber resurrected speculation once again last month by saying a merger with SAS hadn’t worked out thus far, but said to ‘wait and see’ what the final outcome would be.