The summit at Palazzo Chigi ended in stalemate and on Saturday Alitalia risks having to shut down the turbines. The government continues to seek a public partner for the ailing flag carrier, which needs a refinancing of 300 million euros to support the industrial plan to 2016 (the assembly will meet on 14 October). Today the meetings continue to the bitter end.
THEhypothesis of a marriage with Ferrovie dello Stato vanished (according to Prime Minister Enrico Letta, the conditions set by CEO Mauro Moretti were too stringent) and now the most accredited lead seems to be the one that leads to Fintecna, a Cassa depositi e prestiti company that could take over 15-20% of Alitalia.
There would be statutory constraints to be overcome, but even if this alliance were to vanish, the Government remains determined to find a solution that envisages the involvement of state subjects (while excluding direct intervention by the Treasury). Land banks have already stressed several times that they are only willing to participate in the capital increase if the state plays a role in the rescue plan. The company's suppliers, Adr and Eni, who boast millionaire credits, follow the same line.
In any case, some of those present at the last meeting remain convinced that the only truly viable solution is the sale to Air France-KLM. The Italian airline is looking for 500 million euros of fresh capital after having accumulated losses of more than 1,1 billion and debts of around one billion since it was taken over in 2009 by a group of Italian entrepreneurs and 25% by Air France-Klm. Time is now running out: "Alitalia risks taking the books to court if a solution on the capital increase is not found within a couple of weeks," said a government source quoted by the Reuters agency.
And to think that last night everyone was around the table. On behalf of the Government, in addition to Letta, the undersecretary to the Prime Minister Filippo Patroni Griffi and ministers Flavio Zanonato (Development) and Maurizio Lupi (Transport) were present. For Alitalia, however, the president and managing director, Roberto Colaninno and Gabriele del Torchio took part. The banks were represented by Federico Ghizzoni (Unicredit), Gaetano Miccichè (Intesa Sanpaolo), Gerardo Braggiotti (Banca Leonardo). To complete the picture, a number of legal advisors.
“The government has never proposed the entry of FS into Alitalia – he said Wolves –. All hypotheses are being tested in the face of an industrial project for how to safeguard a strategic asset. We continue to work."
Meanwhile, bad news is coming on the fuel front. In the evening Paolo scaroni, CEO of Eni, announced that Alitalia's supplies will be guaranteed "until October 12", because "we cannot renew the credit line to a company that does not give security. We already have an important exposure but if the company doesn't even gain the trust of its shareholders, we can't keep it alive with fuel”.
