There are two possible industrial partnerships looming on the horizon for Alitalia paired with the State Railways for the latest attempt to rescue the Italian airline: either the one made up of the Americans of Delta Air Lines and Air France-Klm or the of the Germans of Lufthansa. According to reports from Il Sole 24 Ore, this is the outcome of the meetings started with the potential partners of the State Railways who have taken over the dossier but who subordinate their entry into Alitalia to that of an industrial partner.
At present, the Americans of Delta seem to have the advantage, which would be ready to take over 20% of the newco Alitalia in the company of Air France and KLM, which would take another 20%, and of course the State Railways which are not willing to go further 25-30% on condition that the railway investment plan is not altered. The Americans and the French are interested in Alitalia to curb competition from Lufthansa and in this hypothesis 30% of the newco would remain to be covered which could derive in part (15%) from the conversion of the state loan with the MEF's entry into the capital and for the remainder from minority public shares such as a possible financial participation of CDP.
However, Lufthansa does not give up and a new meeting with the Italian emissaries is scheduled for tomorrow in Frankfurt. The Germans want 51% of the newco Alitalia but do not like the participation of the Italian government in the capital while they are willing to work with the FS as a minority shareholder. On the other hand, the hypothesis of easyJet joining Alitalia seems to be in decline.
In the coming days we will try to tighten with a particular eye on the redundancy emergency. Currently in Alitalia there is a workforce of 11.917 employees, of which 1.360 on layoffs. The Delta plan, according to Il Sole, plans to employ between 9 and 10 thousand with potential redundancies between 2 and 3 thousand. In the Lufthansa plan, redundancies would instead rise to 6 because workers in handling, maintenance and central offices would be excluded. This is why for now, in the intentions of the Government which is keeping an eye on the imminent elections, the American and Franco-Dutch plan is ahead, even if the negotiations are very open.
