“Before seeing if there is a plan B or C for Alitalia, let's see if the great work done in recent months with Etihad will be successful. We must all work in that direction”. This was stated today by the Minister of Infrastructure and Transport, Maurizio Lupi, on the sidelines of the annual meeting of Consob.
“The only possibility for the relaunch of Alitalia is the identification of a major partner – he added -. We have not set any conditions other than evaluating the agreement on the basis of the industrial plan and the company's relaunch".
As for the rumors about the creation of a company in which to merge the Italian carrier's debts, Lupi said that "the relaunch of a company like Alitalia will not pass for a bad company".
Meanwhile, plans are being made for the creation of a newco in which the majority would go to the current shareholders of the Italian company. Etihad would have a share between 40 and 49%, which would come through a capital increase of up to 560 million euros, while the Cai holding company would remain the controlling shareholder with a minimum stake of 51%.
The plan does not envisage the creation of a bad company and therefore the debts will remain in the holding company. As for redundancies, the cut of 2.500 employees requested by Ethiad could more than halve during the negotiations and reach 1.000-1.200.
