July 3, 2024 | 16:53
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The German sky giant will acquire a 41% stake in Ita from shareholder Mef through a capital increase of 325 million euros
Fiumicino, 3 July 2024 – The European Commission has approved the marriage between Ita and Lufthansa. The green light for the operation, as previously announced, includes conditions to protect competition at the Milan-Linate airport, on short-haul routes between Italy and Central Europe, and on long-haul connections between Fiumicino and North America with the opening to rival companies.
The German sky giant will acquire a 41% stake in Ita from shareholder Mef through a capital increase of 325 million eurosto then increase in a second phase – by 2033 – to 100% of the new company that arose from the ashes of Alitalia for a total investment of 829 million.
“We assessed very carefully” the Ita-Lufthansa operation, said the vice-president of the European Commission, Margrethe Vestager, “it was necessary to avoid that passengers ended up paying more or finding themselves with fewer and lower quality air transport services on certain routes in and out of Italy. The package of remedies proposed by Lufthansa and the Mef fully addresses our competition concerns by ensuring that a sufficient level of competitive pressure remains on all relevant routes”.
Giorgetti: “We are closing a historic and long-standing affair”
“Today we close a historic and long-standing affair, that of the national carrier and then Ita – said the Minister of Economy, Giancarlo Giorgetti -, this is a success for this government, an Italian, European and German success, even compared to a very tough negotiation”. “The positive solution occurs with an operator like Lufthansa that comforts us and allows us to develop air traffic to and from Italy, to develop the Italian economy, Rome will become the reference hub for America and Africa”, the minister underlined.
