Delta and Air France-KLM challenge MSC and Lufthansa for control of ITA
Aviation giants Delta Airlines and Air France-KLM are reportedly challenging the MSC and Lufthansa’s bid for Alitalia’s successor ITA Airways.
Backed by an international fund, Delta and Air France-KLM have shown their interest in acquiring a majority stake in the newly born Italian carrier, Italian Government sources told newspaper La Repubblica.
The joint partnership is expected to directly challenge the MSC-Lufthansa’s bid, which would see the shipping giant acquire a majority stake in the company, leaving the rest to its minority shareholders.
Lufthansa’s boss Carsten Spohr last week told investors not to worry about the takeover, stating that owning a majority stake in ITA was “far away” from his intentions, City PM reported.
“We know what we are doing in Italy, no worry. I hear my shareholders – don’t worry we know there is a legacy,” Spohr said in reference to Alitalia’s decades of losses which led to the carrier’s complete relaunch in October.