By Angelo Amante and Giuseppe Fonte
BERLIN/ROME (Reuters) -German carrier Lufthansa said on Wednesday it had offered to buy an initial minority stake in ITA Airways, Italy’s state-owned successor to Alitalia.
Lufthansa said Italy is the most important market outside of its existing home markets and the United States, noting its prominence as both a business and tourism destination.
The move comes after the new right-wing administration in Rome passed a decree in December to initially sell a minority stake through capital increases, in order to speed up a full divestment in ITA.
Beside its domestic German business, Lufthansa already operates the brands Swiss, Austrian Airlines and Brussels Airlines.
“The plan is to agree on the initial acquisition of a minority stake as well as on options to purchase the remaining shares at a later date,” Lufthansa said in a statement, adding it hoped to sign a Memorandum of Understanding with the Italian Economy Ministry and move on to exclusive talks.
Two sources said previously that ITA’s shareholders will convene to give a green light to the capital increase once the Italian Treasury signs off on the memorandum with Lufthansa, a process Italy aims to finalise quickly.
ITA in 2021 posted an operating loss of 170 million euros and analysts believed a merger with a stronger rival was the only option left for the airline, seen as unable to survive national and international competition as a standalone company.
Lufthansa became the frontrunner after Italy held talks last year with U.S. private equity fund Certares, Air France KLM and Delta about a deal for ITA but failed to reach an agreement.
Air France confirmed earlier on Wednesday that it would not bid for ITA.
(Reporting by Kirsti Knolle, Giuseppe Fonte, Angelo Amante and Ilona WissenbachWriting by Keith Weir and Joanna PlucinskaEditing by Jane Merriman, Kirsten Donovan)
