What will Ita Airways buy?
Lufthansa can get back in the running for Ita acquisition. A note from the Treasury communicated the termination of the exclusivity obligations granted from 31 August to Certares, Air France-KLM and Delta in the sale of Ita Airways.
Twist of the scene for the privatization of Ita Airways, the airline born from the ashes of Alitalia: the Minister of the Treasury Giancarlo Giorgetti brings MSC and Lufthansa back to the track.
On Monday, the Ministry of Economy and Finance – currently the 100% owner of the Italian carrier – announced the end of the exclusive obligations for talks with the US private equity fund Certares, Air France-KLM and Delta for the sale of Ita Airways.
“The exclusivity obligations granted on August 31st end today”, reads the note from the Mef , adding that contacts will continue on “a possible sale agreement” with potential buyers.
On 31 August, the consortium led by Certares had beaten a rival offer presented by the Aponte MSC family group and the German national airline Lufthansa for the possibility of acquiring control of Alitalia's successor. Certares proposed the purchase of 50% plus one share in the newco, while Air France-KLM and Delta would initially only be commercial and operational partners.
In the next few days, as LaPresse recalls, the Mef led by Giancarlo Giorgetti will take stock of the transfer dossier. According to Corriere della Sera , "Certares, Msc-Lufthansa and Indigo Partners – the US fund owner of some low cost airlines such as Wizz Air which had said he was interested in the spring – will be asked to come forward with a new proposal".
In the meantime, on 12 October the airline's board of directors had removed all operational powers (including the one for managing the deal) from the executive president Alfredo Altavilla to assign them to the managing director Fabio Lazzerini. And the Shareholders' Meeting is scheduled for 8 November: on the agenda – in addition to the question of the revocation of proxies to the chairman – the approval of the capital increase of 400 million euros.
All the details.
FROM MEF STOP TO EXCLUSIVE NEGOTIATIONS WITH CERTARES, AIR FRANCE-KLM AND DELTA
On 31 October the Ministry of Economy announced the termination of the exclusive obligations for Ita Airways granted to Certares, Air France-KLM and Delta. The new minister Giorgetti has in fact repaid the comparison with the other consortium, led by MSC and Lufthansa.
THE LOCATION OF LUFTHANSA
The first reactions from Berlin were immediate. “Lufthansa remains interested in the Italian market. We observe the further process of Ita's sale and remain interested in a true privatization of the airline, ”a spokesman for the Lufthansa Group said yesterday.
INTERESTED IN A TRUE PRIVATIZATION
Previously, MSC and Lufthansa had communicated to the government their intention to buy Alitalia's successor, with shares of 80% and 20% respectively in the hands of the Treasury. In particular, the maritime giant led by Gian Luigi Aponte would have been entitled to 60% of the new shareholding structure, while the German airline would have had only 20%, on par with the Treasury.
"After all, in mid-October the CEO Carsten Spohr – referring to the previous government – stressed that" he decided not to proceed with full privatization "and this for Lufthansa" is not the solution ", but he also added" if c 'it is a change of opinion in Italy I am willing to fly there every day, but it must be a full privatization as initially considered »” recalls Il Sole 24 Ore .
WHAT THE CERTARES CORDATA PROVIDED FOR
In fact, on August 31, the then Draghi government preferred the Certares proposal, which leaves the Mef 49.99% , in addition to the appointment of the president and the right of veto on some strategic matters. In the note released in August, the Ministry explained the decision by declaring that the offer presented by the consortium was deemed “more in line with the objectives set by the Dpcm.
According to Reuters sources, Certares is ready to pay 350 million euros for a 50% stake plus one share in the capital of the Italian airline. The offer also includes a capital increase of approximately € 600 million, which would be launched some time after the closing of the operation.
However, the commercial proposals of the Certares-Air France-Delta team do not seem to have convinced them.
THE POSITION OF THE NEW MINISTER OF ECONOMY GIORGETTI
As Agenzia Nova recalls, it is significant that already on 31 August the current Minister of Economy, Giancarlo Giorgetti, had expressed opposition to the exclusive negotiations with the US fund, decided by the Treasury independently – it is said – also with respect to the president of the Outgoing Council, Mario Draghi. The decision, Giorgetti said, "took us by surprise, we are worried because that offer (from Certares) does not include an industrial partner: one of the fundamental parts of the strategy is missing, a future for the Italian company and its workers" .
MSC AND LUFTHANSA FAVORITES AGAIN?
So much so that now the Ministry of Economy and Finance has announced that the timing of the negotiations has expired without success. Lufhansa and his ally MSC could then attempt the purchase of Ita Airways again.
The two companies may now have a better chance of success with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's government. Giorgetti would in fact be a supporter of the acquisition of Ita Airways by MSC and Lufthansa, since it would see a strong partner in the German group, notes Agenzia Nova .
AIR FRANCE WEAK POINT IN THE CERTARES OFFER …
"It is the absence of an industrial solidity of the Certares solution, two months after the start of the negotiations, which led to the reopening of the dossier on the privatization of Ita Airways and therefore to bring MSC-Lufthansa back into the tender" notes the Corriere .
“As is well known, the weak point of the offer presented by the consortium led by Certares for the purchase of 50% plus one share in Ita Airways is represented by the lack of an industrial partner with specific skills in the airline sector; the French have so far shown an interest in entering the equity of the Portuguese Tap, but not that of Ita, contenting themselves with participating only as a commercial ally ”adds the Confindustria newspaper.
In fact, “the role of partner does not involve any expense, direct investment and commitment in Ita Airways. Above all, Air France – which is in a consortium with Certares – will have to abandon a conduct, hitherto ambiguous and fluctuating ”, remarked Repubblica .
Intanyo, Air France-KLM reports that it “takes note” of the end of the exclusive period for the acquisition of Ita and “is reviewing its options regarding the Italian air market while awaiting further information from the Italian state”. A spokesman for the Franco-Dutch group told Bloomberg .
… BUT ALSO DELTA
But the French company is not the only one that will have to rework its commitment in the negotiation. Second Republic “In the wishes of the Meloni government, Delta itself will have to specify its intentions. At the moment, the US airline is also sitting at the table as a simple business partner of Certares. It still has a marginal role, therefore, in the conquest of Ita ”.
WAITING FOR THE SHAREHOLDERS 'MEETING
Finally, for the Italian airline a crucial date will be 8 November, the next Shareholders' Meeting which will have to approve the capital increase of 400 million, part of the 1.35 billion that have obtained the green light from the European commission for recapitalization of Ita (the first 700 million have already been disbursed and the third tranche, scheduled for 2023, will be 250 million euros).
For the Italian state – concludes Repubblica – "The 400 million increase will only be an advance if the buyer of Ita agrees, in the following weeks, to return the public money in whole or in part".
This is a machine translation from Italian language of a post published on Start Magazine at the URL https://www.startmag.it/smartcity/che-comprera-ita-airways/ on Wed, 02 Nov 2022 11:55:47 +0000.