Agency Report –
German airline giant Lufthansa’s investment in the Italian state-owned airline ITA Airways, which Lufthansa executives expected to be announced on Monday, may face last-minute delays.
The closing of the long-agreed deal had not been announced by Monday afternoon, and the Italian news agency ANSA reported that Lufthansa’s entry as a shareholder in ITA could still take a few more days.
That comes despite confidence from the Lufthansa brass, including chief executive Castern Spohr, who had already announced in advance to company staff that the deal would close on Monday.
ANSA, citing unnamed sources, said Lufthansa and the state-owned Italian airline are still working on the final details and revising documents.
The deal could be concluded by Wednesday at the latest, the agency reported.
Both Lufthansa and officials from the Italian Ministry of the Economy and Finance did not give a fixed date for the deal on Monday.
In an interview on Monday with the Frankfurter Allgemeine newspaper, Spohr was more cautious, saying only that he expected the deal to close “this week.”
In a first step, the Lufthansa Group intends to acquire a 41% minority stake in ITA, the successor to the earlier Italian flag carrier Alitalia.
Lufthansa is expected to invest €325 million ($332 million) in the airline.
Spohr reiterated to the newspaper on Monday that the agreed goal of the deal remains an eventual increase to 90% ownership of the Italian airline by Lufthansa.
But Spohr said that next step, although already agreed, is not planned for the current year “from today’s perspective.”
“It is in our interest to keep the Italian government on board in the coming months,” he told the Frankfurt-based newspaper.
A total sum of €829 million has been agreed for the complete takeover.
With around 100 aircraft and around 5,000 employees, ITA would immediately become the Lufthansa Group’s largest foreign subsidiary.
The European Union has approved the deal, which was agreed in 2023, subject to strict competition conditions.
The Lufthansa Group owns a number of European airlines in addition to the namesake German flag carrier: Among the group’s holdings are SWISS, Austrian Airlines, Eurowings, Brussels Airlines and Edelweiss Air.
By Christian Ebner and Robert Messer
