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Lufthansa agrees to acquire 41% stake in ITA Airways
Today, Deutsche Lufthansa AG and the Italian Ministry of Economy and Finance came to an agreement for Deutsche Lufthansa AG to purchase a small part in the Italian national airline ITA Airways. Through a capital raise, Lufthansa will pay EUR 325 million to acquire a 41 percent stake in ITA.
The capital contribution thus directly benefits the company. As part of the agreement, the MEF has also committed to a capital increase of EUR 250m into ITA. In addition, the MEF and Lufthansa agreed on options to enable a potential acquisition of the remaining shares by Lufthansa at a later date. The purchase price for the remaining shares will be based on the business development of ITA Airways.
The contractual finalization of the agreement is expected to be completed shortly. The acquisition of the minority stake is subject to approval by the relevant authorities. Upon closing of this transaction, ITA Airways and Lufthansa Group are expected to immediately start their cooperation at a commercial and operational level. As a network airline, ITA will closely cooperate with Lufthansa Group to benefit from group synergies.
As part of Lufthansa Group, ITA will remain a standalone airline with its own management and a strong brand identity – in line with Lufthansa Group’s successful multi-hub, multi-brand and multi-AOC strategy. At the same time, ITA can benefit from synergies of the Group, such as access to the partner network, central revenue management and the use of Lufthansa Group’s global sales and marketing channels.
Lufthansa submits offer to acquire a stake in ITA(Opens in a new browser tab)
The aim of the partnership is to increasingly transport passengers in Italy with rail connections to and from their respective flight connections at various Italian airports. Lufthansa Group already operates similar intermodal cooperation programs in its home markets, including Deutsche Bahn, Austrian ÖBB and Swiss Federal Railways.
