Lufthansa suffered a defeat in its takeover plans for the Italian state airline Ita Airways. The Ministry of Finance announced on Wednesday that it was not Lufthansa and its partner, the shipping company MSC, that were to conduct exclusive negotiations from now on, but the investor Certares. The Americans, who work with Lufthansa rivals Delta and Air France-KLM, had also submitted a bid for privatization in Rome.
The Ministry of Finance announced that Certares’ offer was more in line with the requirements formulated by the government in February for a takeover of the successor to the traditional company Alitalia. After negotiations with Certares, binding sales contracts will only be signed if the state is satisfied with the details, it said.
The MSC/Lufthansa duo was the favorite right up to the end. The container and cruise line and the German airline wanted to take over 80 percent of the shares in Ita for around 850 million euros, as reported by the media. As a result, Certares made an offer for around 55 percent of the shares. In contrast to MSC and Lufthansa, the Italian state is given more say in decisions.
A Lufthansa spokesman said they took note of the government’s decision. “But we continue to believe that our offer would have offered better prospects for Ita.” The Italian government has opted for a path that could mean more state influence. Lufthansa will intensify its own activities on the Italian market. This includes the offer of the regional company Air Dolomiti with 17 aircraft. In addition, Lufthansa is the provider with the most long-haul passengers to and from Italy.
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