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November 27, 2007 |
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ALITALIA SPA: Deustche Lufthansa Weighs Possible Bid Deutsche Lufthansa AG will decide by year-end whether to bid for the Italian government's 49.9% stake in Alitalia S.p.A., published reports say, citing Lufthansa CEO Wolfgang Mayrhuber's interview with Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung. "We are examining whether we can find a remedy and [whether] we will submit an offer," The Associated Press quotes Mr. Mayrhuber in the interview. "We would therefore welcome it if negotiations could take place as early as December," Reuters relates Mr. Mayrhuber in the interview. Lufthansa is one of the three remaining possible bidders for Alitalia, along with Air France-KLM and AP Holding S.p.A. OAO Aeroflot will not participate in the process while Cordata Baldassarre's bid was deemed "no longer compatible" to the sale. TPG Capital, meanwhile, was unable to finalize an Italian-led consortium, but will continue to follow the developments of the sale. As reported in the TCR-Europe on Nov. 23, 2007, Alitalia's Board of Directors said exclusive negotiations with the chosen bidder could be held within the first half of December 2007. About Alitalia Headquartered in Rome, Italy, Alitalia S.p.A. -- http://www.alitalia.it/ -- provides air travel services for passengers and air transport of cargo on national, international and inter-continental routes. The Italian government owns 49.9% of Alitalia. The company has operations in Argentina. Despite a EUR1.4 billion state-backed restructuring in 1997, Alitalia posted net losses of EUR256 million and EUR907 million in 2000 and 2001 respectively. Alitalia posted EUR93 million in net profits in 2002 after a EUR1.4 billion capital injection. The carrier booked annual net losses of EUR520 million in 2003, EUR813 million in 2004, EUR168 million in 2005, and EUR625.6 million in 2006. Italian Transport Minister Alessandro Bianchi has warned that Alitalia may file for bankruptcy if the current attempt to sell the government's 49.9% stake fails. |
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