The path for Lufthansa to take over Italian state-owned airline ITA is clear as the required documents for the takeover have been submitted to the EU competition authority on time, the Italian Finance Ministry said on Monday.
“We confidently await final approval from the European Commission to facilitate the completion of the transaction,” the ministry said in a statement.
Negotiations between the Italian government and the German airline had stalled again in recent days after a fundamental agreement had long been reached. The dispute was over the final price, Italian media reported.
But the Treasury Department said there have been no changes to the economic agreement since the deal was signed. Lufthansa had no immediate comment.
The German airline will initially acquire 41% of ITA’s shares for €325 million ($346 million) with an option to buy the entire company, which would cost more than €800 million.
The European Commission had already given the first green light for the plan in June, but had imposed a number of conditions. These include the requirement to cede take-off and landing rights to competitors.
Negotiations on the entry of Europe’s most revenue-rich aviation group to the former Italian competitor lasted more than a year. Italia Trasporto Aereo (ITA) emerged in 2020 from state-owned airline Alitalia, which repeatedly fell into serious economic turbulence. According to the latest information, the company employs just under 4,900 employees.
