On Saturday, Italian daily Il Foglio reported that Germany’s Lufthansa is set to buy a 40% stake in state-owned Alitalia’s successor ITA Airways and a deal could be unveiled next week. ITA Airways started flying on October 15 with nearly 2,300 employees and a fleet less than half the size of that operated by Alitalia, the 75-year old former national carrier which is passed through a dizzying succession of restructurings and changes of ownership.
The newspaper did not give a price for any deal but it stated that the two companies were very close to agreeing over some key terms such as role of Rome’s Flumicino airport as a hub for direct flights to Africa and some routes to the Americas. An ITA spokesperson stated on Saturday that the airline’s top management would present a strategic plan to the company’s board on January 31. A data room would be opened in the following days allowing a potential bidder or partner to have access to key financial documents to assess the value of the company. Lufthansa declined to comment.
