Lufthansa has submitted a bid to acquire a minority stake in Italian flag carrier ITA Airways, the successor to Alitalia, with a view to a subsequent takeover.
German carrier Lufthansa confirmed the bid today, describing it as an “initial acquisition” with an option to buy the remaining shares “at a later date”.
Lufthansa submitted the offer to the Italian Ministry of Economy and Finance seeking a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on its takeover bid ahead of “exclusive” negotiations.
However, Air France-KLM has also shown interest in ITA and the Italian government, which fully owns ITA, has identified Air France-KLM as its preferred bidder.
ITA Airways is a member of the SkyTeam alliance alongside Air France-KLM and Delta Air Lines, as was its predecessor Alitalia.
In a statement, Lufthansa said the proposed talks “would primarily focus on the form of a possible equity investment, [and] the commercial and operational integration of ITA into the Lufthansa Airline Group, as well as resulting synergies”.
Lufthansa noted: “Italy is the most important market outside of its home markets and the US.
“Italy’s importance for both business and private travel lies in its strong export-oriented economy and status as one of Europe’s top vacation spots.”
ITA was launched in 2021 after the Italian government acquired and restructured Alitalia to rescue it from bankruptcy. Alitalia had been state owned until its privatisation in 2009.
Lufthansa first registered an interest in acquiring ITA alongside Italian cruise group MSC in January 2022. Delta Air Lines and Air France-KLM subsequently confirmed their interest.
The Lufthansa Group comprises Swiss, Austrian Airlines, Brussels Airlines and German carrier Eurowings in addition to Lufthansa.
Any deal would be subject to regulatory approval.