Air France-KLM and Delta could buy joint 40% stake in Alitalia - report (translated)
19 JAN 2019
Air France-KLM [EPA: AF] and Delta [NYSE: DAL] could take a joint 40% equity stake in Alitalia, Italian-language daily Il Sole 24 Ore reported. The report cited sources close to the dossier, who said that Air France and Delta signalled in talks last week with Ferrovie dello Stato (FS), the state-owned Italian railway network, that they would each be willing to take a 20% stake in Alitalia.
The report noted that Delta and Air France are keen to see off a rival bid by Lufthansa [ETR: LHA] in order to protect their north Atlantic routes. The Delta/Air France bid appears to have the advantage at present, the report said.
FS is set to take a 25-30% stake in Alitalia, while the Italian Treasury would convert part of a bridge loan it has provided to Alitalia to take a 15% stake. The remaining 10-15% of Alitalia would be acquired by another state-owned Italian entity such as Cassa Depositi e Prestiti.
The article added that the stakes would be taken in a newco holding Alitalia's assets that would have fresh capital of EUR 1bn.
Delta's industrial plan would mean that Alitalia that would continue to hold its maintenance and baggage handling operations as well as the aviation assets.