The Italian government has announced that it has entered exclusive negotiations with private equity firm Certares, as well as Air France KLM and Delta Air Lines, regarding the privatisation of state-owned ITA Airways.
According to Airline Weekly, Certares would provide the initial equity, with Air France KLM and Delta operating as commercial partners.
Lufthansa and MSC, in a consortium, were initially viewed as the preferred bidders and at one time seemed to be a shoo-in (see here), however their bid appears to have been unseated by the new bid. The Certares-led group’s flexibility over the final shareholdings is reported to have resulted in the current outcome.
The state would retain about 45% of ITA shares in the Certares deal, maintaining control over two of the five board seats and some level of command over management nominations, reports Travel Weekly. The Lufthansa and MSC bid had sought to acquire 80% of the airline’s shares, leaving only 20% to the state.
The Certares-led group will make a contribution of €600 million (R10,4bn) for its 55% stake in the airline, of which Certares would acquire 40,1%, Air France KLM 9,9%, and Delta 5%, according to Airline Geeks.
