Aviation Lufthansa lands with Italy's state airline Ita
Europe's largest aviation group is expanding southwards. With the largest acquisition in its history, Lufthansa is initially acquiring a minority stake in a true legend in Italy.
17.01.2025, 17:47
17.01.2025, 18:05
SDA
Lufthansa has completed the first step in the takeover of the Italian state airline Ita. According to Lufthansa, the Group has made a capital contribution of 325 million euros and received a minority stake of 41 percent of Ita shares in return. The Italian state will initially continue to hold the majority.
The complete takeover of Alitalia's successor, which currently has 99 aircraft and 5,000 employees, has already been contractually agreed with the government in Rome. Accordingly, Lufthansa can initially take over 90 percent in two further steps and later the entire Italia Trasporto Aereo (Ita) if the business figures are right.
In an interview with the "Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung", Group CEO Carsten Spohr said that the step towards a majority shareholding was not planned for the current year. "It is in our interest to keep the Italian government on board in the coming months. However, a 100 percent takeover is the clear goal." A fixed price of 829 million euros has been agreed for this, including a potential variable component.
EU competition requirements
After lengthy negotiations, the European Union approved the takeover subject to strict competition regulations. Ita had to relinquish extensive take-off and landing rights in Rome and Milan to the direct airline Easyjet. Ita must also bring passengers of its competitors IAG (British Airways, Iberia) and Air France to their hubs at preferential conditions. Even before its entry into Italy, Lufthansa was the airline group with the highest turnover in Europe.
The 27 new Easyjet connections to numerous European cities are intended to limit the market power of the Lufthansa Group. The Irish low-cost airline Ryanair is the largest provider in the Italian market.
New boss a German
Even before the legal completion of Lufthansa's entry, the Italian state, as the previous owner, had already appointed the airline's new five-member management team. Lufthansa chief strategist Jörg Eberhart, who has already headed the northern Italian regional subsidiary Air Dolomiti for eight years, has been appointed Chief Executive Officer. Sales expert Lorenza Maggio also comes from Lufthansa.
Group CEO Carsten Spohr praises the development work at the successor to Alitalia. "We are delighted to continue this success story together with Ita Airways. With our participation, we are now strengthening the Italian and European aviation market and the Lufthansa Group's position as number one in Europe."
After Lufthansa, Swiss, Austrian and the Belgian Brussels Airlines, Ita will be the fifth privatized state-owned airline under the umbrella of the Group. The company, which was launched in the middle of the coronavirus crisis in 2020, has always posted a loss on the bottom line to date, but has announced an operating profit for 2024, as in the previous year.
It had around 18 million passengers last year. The new subsidiary is expected to quickly benefit from joint purchasing and uniform marketing within the Lufthansa Group and contribute a three-digit million profit annually.
The airline, initially still managed as a minority shareholding, will immediately become the largest foreign subsidiary in the Group, while Leonardo da Vinci Airport in Rome-Fiumicino will become the sixth hub of the multi-brand provider. Regular customers will be offered a quick transition to the Lufthansa Miles&More program, as Lufthansa CEO Spohr has announced. The transition to the Star Alliance airline alliance is therefore planned for 2026.
Earlier takeover plans
Deutsche Lufthansa AG had already flirted with a takeover in Italy under Spohr's predecessor Wolfgang Mayrhuber, but ultimately kept its hands off Alitalia, its predecessor in Italy. As a result, the Arab Etihad and Air France lost a lot of money there.
The Italian state had to rescue the airline, which was held in high esteem as a national symbol, from bankruptcy several times. In the transition to Ita, the company was finally downsized and completely nationalized again. Although the new company bought the naming rights of its legendary predecessor, it is not its legal successor.
