La European Commission he put the final stamp on the operation Ita Airways-Lufthansa: after the final touches requested to ensure thebalance of the heavens, the long process for the construction of the Europe's largest sky group he arrived atfinal approval. The final package of commitments sent by the Ministry of Economy and Finance, the German giant and the new Italian company in extremis on 11 November, after a long series of tensions and disputes – was deemed “consistent” with the agreements made in the political agreement already endorsed by Brussels on 3 July.
“The European Commission has approved easyJet, IAG (British Airways and Iberia group, ed.), Air France-KLM as suitable subjects to remedy the commitments undertaken by Lufthansa and the Italian Ministry of Economy and Finance in order to acquire joint control of Ita Airways” Brussels explained in a note adding that “the approval is a condition for Lufthansa to implement the transaction”. With this key step for the entire operation it will now be possible to proceed with thecapital increase,Lufthansa entrance and the launch of the plan reinforcement and expansion of the tricolor vector.
A green light arrived almost at the last minute of the mandate first Commission von der Leyen, which expires at exactly midnight today, November 30. A final step that the company led by Carsten Spohr he immediately wanted to guarantee that it will be accomplished "at the beginning of the 2025” to shield an operation from total value of 829 million euros.
Antitrust Czarina Margrethe Vestager's Three Critical Points
The proposals of the Treasury and Lufthansa were meant to convince the team of the EU competition tsarina, Margrethe Vestager on three market segments considered critical: ten short-haul routes from Italy to Central Europe (destination Germany, Austria, Belgium and Switzerland), the Milan Linate hub and the three intercontinental routes from Fiumicino to Washington, Chicago and Toronto.
The EU lens was focused, in particular, on trade agreements of multi-year duration signed by the two brides-to-be with the easy family of brands. to re-establish competition in the Linate airport and on Short links, And with Iag (parent company of British and Iberia) and Air France-Klm to guarantee passengers an alternative, via a stopover, to the direct trips offered by the Italian-German duo on long connections with North America.
In essence, Ita and Lufthansa they are selling a series of flights between Milan Linate and Rome Fiumicino to 3 competitors: easyJet, Air France and IAG (British, Iberia). This, along all the disputed routes. In particular the British low cost easyJet gets 30 slots, take-off and landing rights, Linate. This will solve the problem of short flights to Europe. Instead Iag (which unites British Airways and Iberia) and Air France gain more space on intercontinental routes, to the United States and Canada.
The solutions were judged positively by the antitrust: the companies called to protect the balance of the skies have shown themselves, with their business plans, to be "active and valid competitive forces in competition" with the Italian-German duo. A complex assessment, marked by technical and legal steps with political contours, for a troubled operation, notified exactly one year ago, on November 30, in Brussels.
Now we move on to the closing operations
Now the fate of the alliance is entirely in the hands of the two companies that will be able to proceed with the closing of the operation that will be concluded reasonably mid-January 2025, Starting from convening of the shareholders' meeting and by 'capital increase reserved for the Germans for 325 million euros (for 41%). As for the governance, the Italian State, which retains the majority of shares (for the time being), will have three of the 5 directors. One of these will be the president. Lufthansa will instead have the other 2 directors and, obviously, the CEO position. They are the shareholder agreements to hand over the helm of command in Italy to the German group, despite initially having only 41% of the capital. In the future, Lufthansa will be able to acquire 100% of Italy by 2033, with a total investment that will reach 829 million.
easyJet: 8 new planes in Italy in spring
In a note, easyJet confirms that "starting from spring 2025 it will base five aircraft in Milan Linate and three in Rome Fiumicino, creating immediately around 250 direct jobs in the two bases”. “This will ensure an increasingly competitive Italian market, allowing easyJet to offer an even wider range of destinations and advantageous fares for Italian consumers”, comments in a note Kenton Jarvis, financial director of the British carrier and next CEO. “We are excited to be able to strengthen our presence at Milan Linate and Rome Fiumicino”, adds Lorenzo Lagorio, country manager of easyJet Italy.
Giorgetti: we are satisfied
At the beginning of last week it seemed again that everything was about to fall apart due to Frankfurt's request for a discount on the price that had infuriated the treasury that had said it was not willing to give in to "blackmail" and "sell off" the newco. In the end the Germans gave up the race to the bottom.
"After Mps, we can also see the finish line for Ita. We are satisfied with this new stage, now we have to cover the last mile" said the Minister of Economy and Finance in a note Giancarlo Giorgetti.
The German giant responds: “The Lufthansa Group welcomes this authorization by the Commission, as it represents an important milestone in the M&A process for the successful acquisition of Ita. The closing of the deal is currently scheduled for early 2025”. While Ita, led by President Antonino Turicchi, says: “The company will continue to work in support of the Mef in view of the closing of the operation”.
