ITA Airways: Lufthansa set to acquire additional stake

The Italian government and Lufthansa reached an agreement to sell an additional stake in ITA Airways to the German airline. The news was announced Monday night, just before the deadline to present the agreement to European regulators. After extensive negotiations over the price and terms of the agreement, the agreement will now need to be approved by the European Commission, which is responsible for ensuring fair competition in the market.

According to the Italian press, Lufthansa requested a €10 million discount on the original purchase price of €325 million for a 49% stake, a request that the Italian government rejected, creating an impasse in the negotiations. According to sources from Yahoo! cited by Aeroin, this sale follows Lufthansa’s initial acquisition of a 41% stake in ITA in May 2023, with the right to expand its stake to 100% in the medium term.

Sale conditions and regulatory requirements

The Italian Minister of Economy, Giancarlo Giorgetti, confirmed that the additional 49% stake would be sold at the same value. Furthermore, Giorgetti accepted the European Commission’s requirement to transfer a series of take-off and landing slots to other airlines to maintain fair competition in the market.

Lufthansa justified its discount request by citing a projected decline in ITA’s value for the last quarter of 2024. However, a source from the Italian government stated that «Italy is not selling its airline at a banana price,» reflecting the country’s importance on this transaction.

The disagreement over the price has created a tense scenario between the Italian government and Lufthansa. Giorgetti refused to sign a package of commitments with the European Commission, unlike Lufthansa, emphasizing his defense of Italian interests in the agreement. When asked about a possible meeting with Lufthansa’s CEO, Carsten Spohr, Giorgetti noted that «it would be appropriate.»