ROME (Reuters) – German airline Lufthansa will consider increasing its stake in Italian airline ITA to 90 percent from early next year, its chief executive said in an interview published on Thursday.
Carsten Spohr was speaking after his company received EU antitrust approval to buy 41% of state-owned ITA for 325 million euros ($350 million).
“For us, the option to take 90% starts in early 2025,” Spohr told Italy’s Corriere della Sera, adding that he would like the Italian government to retain a stake in ITA.
When Lufthansa agreed a 41% deal with authorities in Rome last year, it said it looked to take full control of ITA “at a later date.”
In a separate interview with the daily Il Sole 24 Ore, Italian Trade Agency chairman Antonino Turici said the deal for Lufthansa’s initial investment would close in November, adding that Lufthansa would have the possibility of raising its stake to 90% “one year after closing”.
Italy’s Economy Minister Giancarlo Giorgetti said on Wednesday that his government wants to maintain some control over the income tax law to protect national interests.
Speaking to Corriere della Sera on Thursday, Spohr said he wanted to retain the “support” of the Italian government for the first two years of Lufthansa’s involvement in the Italian civil aviation authority. “Then we will discuss together what needs to be done,” he added.
Spohr declined to say who would be appointed as the new CEO of Alitalia after Italian press reports suggested that Joerg Eberhardt, Lufthansa’s strategy chief and former boss of Air Dolomiti, would get the job.
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