Lufthansa wants ITA shares
Interest in 40% of Alitalia successor

The German Lufthansa wants to acquire a 40% stake in the state-owned Alitalia successor company ITA Airways. A deal could be announced next week, Italian daily Il Foglio reported on Saturday.
ITA Airways began operations on October 15 with nearly 2,300 employees and a fleet less than half the size of Alitalia, the 75-year-old former national airline that has undergone a dizzying series of restructuring and ownership changes.
The newspaper did not name a price for the deal but said the two companies are close to an agreement on some key terms, such as the role of Rome's Fiumicino airport as a hub for direct flights to Africa and some routes to the Americas.
An ITA spokesman said on Saturday that the airline's top management would present a strategic plan to the board on January 31. A data room will be opened in the following days, allowing a potential bidder or partner to access important financial documents in order to determine the value of the company.
Lufthansa declined to comment.
The report comes after sources told Reuters on Jan. 12 that ITA is in contact with Lufthansa, British Airways and America's Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) to agree on an equity investment and that formal talks are pending could start in March.
A Lufthansa spokesman said at the time that the German airline was open to a possible partnership with ITA.
Delta denied any intention to invest in ITA.
The German government currently holds 14% of Lufthansa shares after conducting a bailout at the height of the coronavirus pandemic in 2020, and aims to sell its stake by October 2023 at the latest.
The group was saved from bankruptcy by Germany, Switzerland, Austria and Belgium with €9 billion (US$10.21 billion) in financial aid approved by the European Commission.
A spokesman for the German economy ministry declined to comment on the Italian newspaper report.
According to Il Foglio, a deal with ITA would have to be approved by the European Union under competition law.
