Lufthansa has finalized an agreement to acquire shares in ITA Airways

Lufthansa and the Italian government have reached an agreement to purchase an initial 40% stake in ITA Airways, with the German airline group putting forward between €320 million and €330 million. If ITA Airways reaches a break-even point in H1 2026, Lufthansa could begin the process to purchase the remaining shares of the Italian carrier for about €500 million. 

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However, the deal would have to be approved by the European Commission (EC), which is already aware of the potential deal and will wait for remedial measures to address competition concerns. The Italian government had looked to finalize the deal by mid-April 2023, but negotiations dragged on, resulting in a month-long delay. Lufthansa Group officially announced that it has put forth a bid for ITA Airways in January 2023.

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Lufthansa Group was the only bidder left for ITA Airways after a consortium of Delta Air Lines, Air France-KLM, and Certares backed out. The Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) also backed away from the deal. ITA Airways was established out of the ashes of Alitalia, an Italian state-owned airline, and commenced operations on October 15, 2021.

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The European Commission allowed the Italian government to inject up to €1.3 billion of cash into ITA Airways, with Alitalia's debts not carried over. The Italian government also had to recover €400 million plus interest of state aid from the now-defunct airline.

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