Italy picks bid by US fund, Delta and Air France for ITA Airways

MILAN — Italy said on Wednesday it chose a bid by US investment fund Certares, in partnership with Delta Airlines and Air France-KLM, for exclusive talks to take over national carrier ITA Airways.

The decision came as a surprise, as Swiss-Italian shipping group MSC and its ally, German airline Lufthansa, had appeared frontrunners in the race to buy Alitalia's successor.

The offer by Certares and its partners "was deemed to be the most in line with the objectives set" by the state, which owns 100 per cent of the company, the Italian economy ministry said in a statement, without disclosing the amount on the table.

"At the end of the exclusive negotiations, binding agreements will only be signed if their content is fully satisfactory for the public shareholder," the ministry said.

According to the Italian daily Il Messaggero, the Certares fund, which specialises in tourism, has proposed to buy nearly 56 per cent of ITA for around 600 million euros ($599 million).

The Italian state would retain a 44 per cent stake and have two of the five seats on the future ITA board.

MSC and Lufthansa had proposed at the end of August to pay 850 million euros for 80 per cent of ITA, a lower offer than a previous one of 1.3 billion to 1.4 billion euros made in January, due to the expected decline of the airline market after the summer.

Soaring energy prices, the war in Ukraine, a lack of staff and the resurgence of coronavirus all contribute to a hazy outlook.

Lufthansa said: "From our point of view, our joint offer with MSC was the better solution for ITA."

"Evidently, a path is now being chosen that allows more state influence and does not envisage the complete privatisation of ITA.

"Even without a cooperation with ITA, the Lufthansa Group remains excellently positioned in Italy."

The travel agency network controlled by Certares will enable ITA to expand its presence in the United States.

French-Dutch airline Air France-KLM has previously set its sights on Alitalia — in 2009, it acquired a 25 per cent stake in the Italian company before gradually withdrawing from it from 2013.

Its hands are tied by EU conditions set in return for state aid it received during the coronavirus pandemic.

It was prevented from taking a stake of more than 10 per cent in another company in the sector.

The Italian government gave the green light in February to the privatisation of the state-owned airline, which took to the skies in October last year.

ITA Airways replaced the loss-making national carrier Alitalia, which was put under state administration in 2017, after years of fruitless attempts to find a buyer.

The Italian state has spent more than 13 billion euros trying to get the national airline back on its feet.