Wedding in the skies between Ita and Lufthansa. Spohr "Largest acquisition in company history"

It will presumably take a few more days for Lufthansa to formalize the payment of the 325 million euros necessary for the purchase of 41% of Ita Airways. The parties are still working on the final details. We learn this from qualified sources.

Last week the German agency Dpa spoke of January 13th as the probable date for the transaction, but without the two companies officially confirming or denying it. The operation could therefore be postponed by a few days, some rumors speak of Wednesday 15 January as the new date.

“The largest acquisition in Lufthansa history” this is how the CEO of the German company defined it in an interview with Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, Carsten Spohr, underlining that in the coming years Ita will allow the company to increase its profits.

Lufthansa purchases 41% of Ita for 325 million euros, with the prospect of gradually gaining ownership of the entire share package, as part of an operation that should close by 2029 for a total amount of 829 million.

The first step of the new corporate structure is expected with the shareholders’ meeting called to create the new Board of Directors, which will go from three to five members. On pole to take on the role of CEO there would be Joerg Eberhart, head of strategy at Lufthansa and also CEO of Air Dolomiti, one of the Group’s carriers.

The entry of Ita Airways into the Lufthansa group – which it already owns Austrian, Swiss, Eurowings, Brussels Airlines e Discover – strengthens the third global airline and offers a more solid future perspective to the Italian carrier.

The closing of the sale of 41% of Ita Airways to German company was signed, thus marking the official passage of the Italian carrier and the end of a long and complex operation which also saw the intervention of the European Commission. In fact, to arrive at the purchase of Ita, a long consultation with the EU was necessary, which last summer requested corrective measures to avoid violating competition rules. The definitive green light – seasoned with some final tension between the parties on the confirmation of the agreed sales price – required the commitment of the two companies to give up slots on medium and long-range routes from Rome Fiumicino and Milan Linate airports. In the first case Air France and Iag (the holding company of British, Iberia, Vueling and Aer Lingus) will obtain slots on long-haul flights to the USA and Canada, while in the second easyJet will benefit from spaces departing to destinations in Europe.

The agreement also includes a new hiring plan for 2025, which will see 10 thousand new jobs created, divided between pilots, flight attendants, ground operators and technicians. Most of the hirings will take place in Germany while the Italian situation remains difficult where 2,118 former Alitalia workers they stay in redundancy fund.

The CEO of Lufthansa specifies that the purchase of 100% of Ita is “the goal”, but the increase in participation is currently not planned for 2025. “It is in our interest to keep the Italian government on board in the coming months “the manager said.

In addition to the Mef, the Foreign Minister, Antonio Tajani, also welcomed the agreement and stated: “Today the agreement with Lufthansa finally closes. We need an Italian company that allows us to have a greater Italian presence in the world “, underlined Tajani on the sidelines of the ‘Italy in 1 selfie’ event at the Farnesina.

“We are working to increase the number of flights” to and from Italy, he added, citing the opening of two new routes Shanghai-Venezia and Mongolia-Bergamo. For Tajani, a joint effort from all sectors is necessary to grow the Italian economy, increase exports and attract investments from abroad.