To avoid taking the books to court within a couple of weeks, Alitalia he needs to find a solution within a few days. The problem is being dealt with by Prime Minister Enrico Letta himself, who considers the flag carrier a strategic asset for the country.
The latest hypothesis on the Government table speaks of a capital increase of 300 million, half subscribed by Fintecna (company controlled by Cassa Depositi e Prestiti) and half by current members. To cover any unopted, Unicredit and Intesa Sanpaolo would be ready to set up a guarantee syndicate.
The Board of Alitalia "is confident, given the availability shown by the shareholders and the banking system, that the financial situation can soon be rebalanced", reads the note released yesterday by the company after the board meeting, convened again for Thursday at 17pm.
For his part, the president of the company, Roberto Colanino, "reported that the Government, with whose representatives the top management of Alitalia had a meeting yesterday - continues the note -, is completing the analysis of the situation to define the appropriate interventions, for the definition of which a further short period of time".
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.
The shareholders' meeting will meet on 14 October to approve the capital increase "by at least 100 million" approved last month with the French shareholders voting against.
Meanwhile, Alitalia runs the risk of no longer being able to fill up its airplanes. Yesterday the managing director of Eni, Paolo Scaroni, was clear: if Alitalia "does not gain the trust of the shareholders, we cannot keep it alive with fuel".
