Rome, May 7 — The long-running attempt by Lufthansa to acquire a stake in the state-owned Italian airline Ita took another possible step forward today, as the parties involved offered the European Commission further concessions, reported dpa news.
Brussels had been offered “additions” in line with the commission’s demands, the Italian Finance Ministry said, without providing any details. Lufthansa also refused to provide details about the apparent concessions.
Lufthansa wants initially to buy a 41 per cent stake in the state-owned airline Ita Airways, formerly Alitalia. In return, Ita is to receive €325 million (RM1.6 million) in equity from Lufthansa.
Later, the German airline will be able to acquire a further 49 per cent and then the remaining 10 per cent under certain conditions.
However, the European Commission has not yet approved the project due to competition law concerns. It fears that customers could suffer from rising prices or poorer quality service after the takeover.
A decision is expected next month. — Bernama-dpa
