ROME: Italy’s loss-making flag carrier Alitalia is working on a final proposal to present to Etihad today in a push to lock in an investment by the Abu Dhabi-based airline, a person close to Alitalia shareholders said yesterday.
Italy’s transport minister, the prime minister’s chief of staff, Alitalia’s senior management and major shareholders, including top bank UniCredit, met to discuss the issue yesterday at the prime minister’s office in Rome.
“Progress has been made, now we are working to prepare a response that Alitalia will give to Etihad tomorrow,” the person close to the airline’s shareholders said after the meeting.
Etihad’s plans to take a 49 percent stake in Alitalia, which has made a profit only a few times in its 68-year history, has been held up by disagreements over Alitalia’s €800m ($1.07bn) debt pile, and plans for job cuts that have stoked outrage among Italian unions. The main issue now under discussion was whether a capital hike of up to €250m approved by Alitalia shareholders last week would be enough to cover any losses Alitalia may make before a deal is finalised and pay for past liabilities, two other people close to the talks said. The upper limit for the capital hike could be raised to €300m to meet Etihad’s demands.
After seven months of talks about a tie-up, Etihad’s CEO said earlier in July he expected to conclude the deal this month, but that the deadline could be extended if needed. Also attending the meeting were the chief executive of Italy’s post office operator Poste Italiane and the CFO of Italian motorway operator Atlantia, which owns a 7.4 percent stake in the airline.
REUTERS
