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Alitalia-Airbus: ITA now has the trademark rights to Alitalia, but the flights will take off under the new name
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According to a newspaper report, Lufthansa wants to join the Italian state airline ITA.
It's about buying a 40 percent stake.
The Italian newspaper "Il Foglio" reports in its Sunday edition.
Accordingly, a corresponding transaction could be announced in the coming week.
According to the report, both companies are close to an agreement on some key issues such as the role of Rome Fiumicino Airport, which should act as a hub for flights to Africa and some connections to America.
Lufthansa declined to comment, as did the Federal Ministry of Economics.
The federal government with a share of 14 percent is Lufthansa's largest shareholder.
ITA, which emerged from Alitalia, which went bankrupt in 2017, announced that top management will present a strategic plan to the board of directors on January 31.
Then the business books should be opened to interested parties.
The last Alitalia flight landed in October, and ITA has been running the business in its place ever since.
The abbreviation ITA stands for Italia Trasporto Aereo.
The company is 100 percent state-owned.
Delta Airlines has denied interest
The Italian government actually wanted to avoid this situation in 2017: After a phase of extraordinary administration, according to the plan, if private investors were to be found, nationalization was ruled out.
But after the start of the corona pandemic, the assessment changed.
In spring 2020, the Italian state took over the airline.
In company circles, British Airways and the US airline Delta had recently been mentioned as possible partners of ITA, in addition to Lufthansa.
Delta then denied wanting to join the Italians.
mamk/Reuters