Alitalia and Etihad are expected to seek EU antitrust approval for their agreement by September and obtain the go-ahead by the end of the year, after having satisfied any conditions. A source close to the dossier said so today.
The UAE company concluded last month an agreement for the purchase of 49% of Alitalia for 1,76 billion euros. “The deal is expected to be notified to the European Commission this month. It should be a conditional green light,” said a source who asked not to be named.
The process to obtain such a go-ahead from the EU Antitrust takes 25 working days, which can be extended by another 10 if companies offer concessions to allay competitiveness fears.
