What is said in Germany about the German Lufthansa that will gobble up Ita
Comments and analysis in Germany on the offer presented by the German Lufthansa for Ita Airways. The article by Pierluigi Mennitti from Berlin
Lufthansa's planned entry into the Italian airline ITA Airways is in the pipeline. After the presentation of the offer to the Ministry of Economy and Finance in Rome "nothing should stand in the way" of the conclusion of the negotiation". The Handelsblatt of Düsseldorf is more than optimistic about the process that led the German company to untie its doubts and knots and start the final phase of the acquisition with the Italian government.
A double pass. The first with the acquisition of a minority stake, around 40%, for which 300 million euros were put on the plate and at the same time an option for the future majority. The second, in fact, for a subsequent phase, to be agreed with the Italian authorities themselves through new negotiations, for the purchase of the remaining options.
NO MORE IMPEDIMENTS TO THE LUFTHANSA-ITA DEAL
"There should be no more impediments on this path", continues the business daily, "since rival Air France has shortly announced that it does not want to submit its offer for ITA, and therefore Lufthansa finds itself the only bidder" in this match over the skies of Southern Europe. A short time is therefore also to be expected for the Handelsblatt , after the stock markets welcomed the operation despite the skepticism of some sector analysts: "A declaration of intent should be signed very quickly by the management of Lufthansa and by the Italian government", continues the newspaper, "in order to allow the German company to gradually take over the operational leadership of the Italian one, as expressly permitted by the recent decree of the government of Rome".
The evaluation of the European Commission must also be awaited, the Handelsblatt then recalls, citing sources within the aviation sector, which however has so far looked at the possible acquisition "in a non-critical way". More probable that Brussels "will force the Lufthansa ITA duo to accept some restrictions on precise monopoly routes".
WHAT LUFTHANSA WILL DO IN GERMANY FOR ITA
Lufthansa has always covered up but never denied the great interest in the Italian state company. In addition to managing traffic from German airports to those in Northern Italy with Air Dolomiti, former CEO Wolfgang Mayrhuber had already attempted the Italian adventure by founding LH Italia, a company that tried unsuccessfully to steal market share from Alitalia but which closed ingloriously just two years later in 2011, racking up big losses. Not exactly a good omen which makes it even more interesting to see if Lufthansa will finally be able to produce active ingredients with ITA. But more than the ability of the German management, for the Handelsblatt the truthfulness "of the assurance by the Italian government that it wants to stay out of operational management" will be decisive.
A POSITIVE MOVE
While Germany's leading business newspaper concentrates its analysis more on the chronicle aspects of the story, the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung ventures a first comment. Which is positive, despite the fact that not all analysts in Germany agree with the move by CEO Carsten Spohr. "Lufthansa is already today the largest airline in Europe, however acquiring the Italian ITA as an additional brand in its portfolio is a necessary undertaking", writes the newspaper of the German financial centre, which recalls how Lufthansa itself managed to defend the shares of the internal market from the attack of the low cost airlines. But if Ryanair and EasyJet have canceled their German ambitions, their expansion continues elsewhere. In Italy, for example.
“Lufthansa maintains its strong internal positioning, but here the growth opportunities are reduced, and the group needs it if it wants to remain in the circle of the main international airlines”, continues FAZ: “With ITA, Italy becomes a new market internal, however by no means unknown and where the German company has been present for some time. And Rome offers itself as a springboard for traffic to the southern part of the globe". Africa, Latin America, but also the United States, because as the Handelsblatt reports again, “already today Lufthansa planes carry more passengers from the United States to Italy than to Germany”.
THE QUESTIONS STILL OPEN
These are strategic questions that Frankfurter is also addressing. Will ITA now purchase all 39 aircraft already booked to pursue its original expansion plans? And which hub will take priority in the new strategy between Rome and Milan? The Lombard capital is important for the strong economy of northern Italy, observes the FAZ, that of the national capital is important for tourism and for routes to the USA. And, as seen, Lufthansa is planning an expansion of routes from Rome to Latin America and Africa, as well as an expansion of the cargo segment, on which the Italian company is weak. A last question? Will ITA and Air Dolomiti merge? And in this case, will the company regain its name full of history of Alitalia?
This is a machine translation from Italian language of a post published on Start Magazine at the URL https://www.startmag.it/smartcity/germania-lufthansa-ita-airways/ on Fri, 20 Jan 2023 14:54:56 +0000.