After nearly two years of intense negotiations, theagreement between Ministry of Economy e Lufthansa for the 'Acquisition of Ita Airways it's back to risk. Last night, just before sending the final documents to Brussels, tensions exploded over the price issue: the German company asked for a renegotiation to the downside for the second tranche of the payment, scheduled for the end of the year and amounting to 603 million euros. The Treasury's response was not long in coming, and was a firm "no, thank you".
Lufthansa's request and the Italian "no"
The German giant motivates the request for discount claiming that, compared to six months ago, Ita would have lost value, taking as a reference the financial results of the last quarter, a traditionally weak period for airlines. However, the Italian government is not willing to give in, stressing that the quarter in question does not reflect the real performance of the company, which is expected to improve in the medium term, especially thanks to the increase in traffic expected for the Jubilee of 2025. Furthermore, the government emphasizes that the closing date was postponed from June to December at Lufthansa's request, thus creating further uncertainty in the final assessment.
Next steps: negotiations still open
Lufthansa reiterated its willingness to comply with theagreement reached in 2023, highlighting that they have signed the package of corrective measures within the agreed timeframe. In particular, the companies have committed to theEuropean antitrust to release 15 pairs of daily slots at Linate to ensure competition in the market, with EasyJet as the main beneficiary. They also agreed to allow the entry of a new carrier on a dozen intra-European routes already covered by Ita and Lufthansa, such as Rome-Frankfurt and Rome-Zurich. Competitors, including Air France-KLM and Ian, have also accepted the terms, and now all that remains is to obtain the final signature of the Italian Treasury. Although the agreement seems close to breaking, yesterday's deadline was not binding, leaving room for negotiations to resume.
If the European green light arrives, the closing of the operation is expected for the end of year and will also include the appointment of the new Board of Directors of Ita, composed of 2 members designated by Lufthansa and 3 by the Ministry of Economy and Finance. However, it remains to be seen whether the parties will be able to find an agreement: the request for a discount advanced by the German giant complicates an agreement that seemed to be already defined. And if on the one hand there are those who do not want to pay more than is due, on the other there are those who do not intend to sell the company at a discount price.
