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Italy’s Treasury has put on hold the sale of a minority stake in ITA Airways to Lufthansa amid differences with the German carrier over the agreed price, a source said on Tuesday.
“The Treasury will not undersell ITA,” the source, who is familiar with the matter, said.
Lufthansa won EU antitrust approval in July to buy 41 per cent of state-owned ITA, the successor airline to bankrupt Alitalia, for 325 million euros (USD 354.02 million), in a deal designed to boost its presence in the lucrative southern European market.
Once the deal is completed, ITA Airways would be Lufthansa Group’s fifth carrier. Under the strategy, Rome’s Fiumicino airport will become one of the Lufthansa Group’s hubs, as ITA Airways focuses on long-range flights. ITA Airways and its Alitalia predecessor have long been searching for an industrial partner as the Italian airline lost out on domestic and European routes to low-cost carriers.
According to Italian daily Corriere della Sera, which was the first to report on the price dispute, the Italian economy ministry and Lufthansa are arguing over a difference of 10 million euros. A spokesperson for Lufthansa said the company would adhere to the terms of the contract for its investment in ITA, adding that the airline had signed the remedies offer that was due to be submitted to the European Commission on Monday.
The offer – needed to secure EU antitrust approval for the deal – included ceding flight slots to rivals.
It was not sent to Brussels as foreseen due to the disagreement over price, the source said.
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