At 11 this morning the Board of Alitalia meets to review the letter sent last Sunday by Etihad. A text in which the Abu Dhabi airline sets the conditions for finally being able to reach an agreement. In the event of black smoke, a new board meeting is already scheduled for next week, which will also have to approve the 2013 budget.
As for the possible new leaders, a Luca Cordero di Montezemolo should go the presidency, while Silvano Cassano should become CEO instead of Gabriel Del Torchio, in turn in pole position for the chair of vice president.
The most delicate chapter concerns though debt restructuring, to the point that yesterday the issue was the focus of a summit at Palazzo Chigi. Etihad has asked for the cancellation of the 560 million euro debt, but the banks are not willing to go beyond a third, around 180 million, aiming to convert the other two thirds into equity. The company of the emirates would have accepted this scheme, however asking for further examinations and insights also in the face of the different position and exposure of the creditor banks.
The Board of Directors of one of Alitalia's great shareholders also meets today, Unicredit – which is also a creditor of the former national airline. CEO Federico Ghizzoni will speak to the board about the letter received from Etihad. An operation carried out two days ago by Intesa San Paolo, first shareholder (and creditor) of Alitalia, during a management board meeting.
On the jobs front, according to union sources, the board should give the mandate to negotiate with the union organizations on redundancies, quantified by a first official estimate at 2.400-2.500 units.
