Skip to main content

Bids coming to privatize Italy's ITA Airways

 

The long saga that started with the slow-burning bankruptcy of Italy's former Alitalia opens a new chapter with its state-owned successor, ITA Airways, opening its books to three sets of bidders who want at least a majority stake in the new, slimmed-down airline.

And that's fine with the Italian government, whose goal has been for Italy to have a 'flag carrier' airline, but to replace public money with private investment.

The three groups that have qualified all have existing airline connections, but each represents a different set of connections.

The long-time expected favorite bidder, Germany's Lufthansa (which also owns the flag carriers of Austria, Belgium and Switzerland) is teamed with MSC, a major container shipping company that also operates a major cruise line. The pair had originally asked for an exclusive first look, but Italy decided not to favor one group.

Two other interested bidders are Certares, a U.S. private equity group that invests in buyouts and joint ventures, especially in travel) and Indigo Partners, which is a major investor in Wizz Air, Frontier Airlines, JetSmart and Mexico's Volaris.

Unstated, but widely rumored, is a possible bid involving Delta and AirFrance/KLM, longtime Alitalia partners and alliance members. They were rumored possibilities to buy Alitalia, and are now reported to be in discussions with an investor group about a possible ITA bid.

While ITA began its operations last October largely with second-hand Alitalia equipment and former staff, it has since signed contracts for a new fleet of Airbus planes, including A220s, A320neo, A330 and a few A350s. In case a new purchaser is feeling nostalgic, it also owns the Alitalia name and marks, which it bought at auction.

The best part of every trip is realizing that it has upset your expectations

Add Comment

Comments (0)

Post
×
×
×
×
Link copied to your clipboard.
×