BRUSSELS: The European Commission has granted its final approval for Lufthansa’s acquisition of a minority stake in Italy’s ITA Airways. This decision clears the path for the creation of the largest airline group in Europe.
According to Ansa News Agency, the final package of commitments was submitted by the Italian Economy and Finance Ministry (MEF), Lufthansa, and ITA Airways on November 11. This submission follows a series of tensions and is considered “coherent” with an agreement that Brussels had already approved on July 3.
“We are satisfied with this new step, now we can go through the last mile,” stated Economy Minister Giancarlo Giorgetti late Friday after the Commission’s approval of the package. Lufthansa highlighted the authorization as a significant milestone and anticipates the final closing of the agreement by early 2025.
Earlier this month, the MEF and Lufthansa achieved a breakthrough in negotiations to resolve issues that had stalled the German company’s merger with ITA Airways. The Treasur
y confirmed that the economic conditions outlined in the 2023 merger contract remained unchanged.
The breakthrough allowed for the signing and submission of the necessary documents to the European Commission for final approval. As per last year’s agreement, Lufthansa will acquire a 41% stake in ITA from MEF through a 325 million-euro capital increase. This stake is expected to rise to 100% by 2033, totaling an investment of 829 million euros.
Under the approved package, EasyJet and Air France KLM will secure additional routes. ITA, owned by MEF, replaced the loss-making former national carrier Alitalia in 2021.
