Several major airlines have shown interest in buying part of the new Italian flagship airline ITA Airways, which is currently owned by the Italian government and started operating five months ago on the ashes of bankrupt Alitalia.
In January this year, Lufthansa Group declared to be interested in buying a stake in the airline. The group has joined forces with the shipping giant MSC (Mediterranean Shipping Company) to submit a so-called Express of Interest (EOI).
Since then, the Italian newspaper La Repubblica disclosed that Delta Air Lines and Air France-KLM together with an as yet unnamed fund want to take over a majority stake in ITA Airways. The three companies have therefore also sent an EOI to the Italian Ministry of Finance.
In addition, the newspaper believes that a third EOI has been issued by a fund that already has investments in low-cost airlines. It might be US-based Indigo Partners, which is already engaged in Wizz Air.
A Delta Air Lines spokesman has confirmed that the US airline is in regular contact with the management of ITA Airways, but refused to comment on the news that Delta Air Lines and Air France-KLM could be interested in taking over part of the airline.
The situation for ITA Airways is in many ways reminiscent of the bidding war that arose over Alitalia. In January 2018, Air France-KLM together with the low-cost airline easyJet submitted a joint bid to take over the now defunct airline. The offer also came into conflict with a purchase offer from Lufthansa and the private financing company Cerberus Capital Management. However, a sale of Alitalia never materialised when the COVID-19 pandemic caused potential buyers to lose interest.
Source: La Repubblica through check-in.dk
