At the end of a'extraordinary assembly of a little more than an hour, Italy Airways this morning he finds himself on one side with a Board of Directors reset, on the other with i in the wallet 400 million ask the Mef.
After the announcement in the last hours of the resignation of president by Italy Airways Alfredo Altavilla and the councilor Frances Ouseley, the extraordinary meeting scheduled for this morning in first call had to ratify that the old Board of Directors is practically decayed, even if the formal farewell will take place on the occasion of the next one Shareholders' meeting convened for Tuesday 15.
Also this morning the resignation that 6 members of the board of directors presented on March 29, effectively frozen by the Draghi government: Lelio Fornabaio, Alessandra Fratini, Simonetta Giordani, Cristina Girelli, Silvio Martuccelli and Angelo Piazza a few days ago they had written to the new Minister of the Economy, Giancarlo Giorgetti, to ask him to follow up on their decision.
In the company's Articles of Association, there is the so-called “simul stabunt simul cadent” clause. In other words: the resignation of the majority of the directors causes the entire Board of Directors to lapse. As reported by Repubblica.it, the board of directors has been streamlined: according to the new rules it will have to have from 3 to 9 members, while previously the number could have been between 7 and 11.
400 million from the Mef to save the company in a liquidity crisis
But among today's news there is also the announcement of the Ministry of the Economy, which currently holds 100% of the shares of Ita Airways, which foresees a capital increase of 400 million by the end of November, to support the company's liquidity. The figure will allow the carrier to continue operating without cash problems. The company, which has accumulated losses of more than 280 million euros, more than a third of its capital, had sent a report on corporate accounts to the economy ministry in September, arguing that the airline's cash level will be "critical" to November. In December, then, the cash level could fall below the security threshold of 100 million euros thus becoming “unsustainable”, Hence the need for a contribution of 400 million euros.
Here are the conditions imposed by Altavilla's resignation
This morning the president of Ita Airways had announced his resignation, setting very precise conditions as a result of which a legal standoff with the Mef is expected.
In fact, Altavilla made his resignation conditional on a series of requests that must be accepted by the public shareholder Mef. Among these, the indemnity, with the waiver of liability actions, and compensation. Moreover Altavilla had already opened a legal practice after they were strategic delegations have been removed, last October 12, in favor of the managing director, Fabio Lazzerini.
In a letter to the Minister of Economy, Altavilla wrote: "I resigned in return for indemnification and renunciation of direct liability actions by the shareholder at the next meeting on 8 November or, if later, on the following date". The top manager also refers to the "last stormy periods without serenity".
La first conditiontherefore, is that the Ministry of the Economy renounce for the future any liability action for the behavior that Altavilla may have had during his term as president of Ita Airways, when he had executive powers.
La second condition is that the ministry and Ita recognize an economic figure to Altavilla who believes he has suffered damage. Altavilla also notes in the letter that "the conditions of the sole shareholder (the MEF, ed) have changed due to the arrival of a new political decision-maker following the national elections and the consequent appointments of ministers secretaries of state and government bodies . In consideration of this changed scenario", he observes, "in order to allow the new course to implement its decisions more quickly and efficiently, without being in any way an impediment or burden, I have come to the decision to resign as chairman of the company ”.
After expressing "esteem and gratitude for the board of statutory auditors", Altavilla adds, "please take note of the next board of directors in which you will want to appoint a delegate for the negotiation of the economic terms of the termination of my relationship with the company by title and quality, as due to me by law and for the prejudices suffered. Finally ”, he concludes,“ a big wish for every well-deserved success for the future ”.
The new Board of Directors grappling with the participation dossier
One of the first urgent dossiers that the new Board of Directors will have to take in hand will be that of the partner for the Company. The new Treasury minister, not fully convinced of the participation in Certares, a fund that would bring liquidity, but no business strategies, withdrew the privatization procedure with the involvement of Lufthansa and Msc, more suited to the role of industrial partners and not just commercial (as Air France-Klm and Delta would have been).
