A tailor-made decree for Lufthansa. In fact, the Italian government published on January 3 a new decree on the privatization of ITA Airways born from the ashes of Alitalia, a soap opera that has already lasted several months.
This decree provides for a sale “in several stages” going through an initial phase of capital increase reserved for the buyer who must initially buy a minority stake.
Subsequently, the plaintiff, which must necessarily be an airline, may acquire the majority of the capital of ITA Airways, the decree specifies.
The German airline giant Lufthansa, considered a great favorite in the race to buy ITA, could thus follow the path already taken for its rise in the capital of Brussels Airlines, acquired in two stages, in 2009 and 2016.
Same scheme as for Brussels Airlines
Following the acquisition of a minority stake in ITA, Lufthansa should take control of Alitalia’s successor, even if the Italian state retains the right of control over strategic decisions.
according to the newspaper Corriere della SeraLufthansa aims for a stake of around 40%, valued between 180 and 200 million euros, and could reach 100% of the capital in the medium term.
Such an operation “would open up new perspectives not only for Lufthansa, but also for ITA,” said Carsten Spohr, in an interview with the German newspaper. Die Zeit.
“We want and must be even more European. It is no secret that Italy is one of the most important markets for us”, she explained.
Officially, all takeover candidates who had participated in the previous sale procedure carried out by the previous government headed by Mario Draghi are, however, allowed to bid.
Skeptical government of Air France
It should be remembered that the previous government of Mario Draghi, however, had selected at the end of August the competing offer of the US investment fund Certares, associated with Air France-KLM and Delta Air Lines, with a view to opening exclusive negotiations.
But the Italian legislative elections turned the tide with the victory of the far-right Fratelli Italia party, which had urged the outgoing prime minister not to rush a decision.
Given the lack of progress in the discussions, the new economy minister, Giancarlo Giorgetti, announced in October his decision not to renew the exclusivity period.
Giancarlo Giorgetti, in favor of a takeover of ITA by Lufthansa, was skeptical of Air France-KLM, which according to him would have been a simple business partner and not an industrial one.
An entry into the capital of Air France-KLM could not actually exceed 10%, because the company’s hands are tied by the conditions imposed by the European Commission in exchange for public aid received to overcome the Covid-19 crisis.
Italian-Swiss shipping giant MSC, which had submitted a joint bid with Lufthansa in January 2022, had thrown in the towel in November, leaving the German company alone on the runway.
Source: BFM TV
