Marine Giant Master And the sky giant Lufthansa asks for the majority ETA, the national airline, took off on October 15, replacing Alitalia. And the twist arrives at noon on Monday, January 24, amid the new state presidential elections. “MSC Group has expressed to the Italian government its desire to acquire a majority stake in Ita Airways,” confirms a note. “MSC Group aims to establish a partnership with the Italian government and Lufthansa as the industrial partner for the project.” Communication continues, “Lufthansa has already expressed an interest in participating in the initiative.” It now remains to understand what Air France and Delta Air Lines will do.
indiscretion
“MSC’s interest stems from the potential to activate the positive synergies of both companies in the freight and passenger sectors where the group is a world leader,” the connection continues. MSC and Lufthansa, “Following today’s expression of interest, requires an exclusive period of 90 business days and is subject to regulatory approvals and due diligenceNews of Lufthansa’s 40% entry has surfaced in recent days, but has been somewhat outright rejected by the two companies. There was no mention of MA. In fact, negotiations were already at an advanced stage – confirms the source – backed by a political agreement cemented between November And December last year, who followed the file explaining to Corriere della Sera That leaders in recent weeks ETA Airlines They explain how the company has in fact fulfilled Lufthansa’s demands in the past months: a smaller company, with half the aircraft, a new corporate contract and, above all, restructured because it is different from Alitalia, has no debts – and the EU condemns the state aid – from the company Old.
tricolor company
“The airline announces that it has today received an expression of interest from MSC and Lufthansa to acquire the majority of Ita Airways,” confirms a note from the Italian airline. “MSC Group has agreed with Lufthansa to participate in the partnership on terms to be determined during the due diligence. Both MSC and Lufthansa have expressed their desire for the Italian government to retain a minority stake within the company,” and confirms the company, which says it is “satisfied with the work done in recent months to offer the company the best prospects for the expected results, i.e. a company recognized as valid. For partners of international caliber both in the transport of passengers and goods.” Now it will be up to the ETA board – which will meet on January 31 – to examine “the details of the expression of interest itself”.
Strategies
The agreement between the two companies and MSC will almost cause an earthquake even in the skies of Europe if the deal ends positively. Ita Airways has joined the SkyTeam Alliance for a year – where Delta Air Lines is, Air France-KLM – and at this point he will have to leave to join StarAlliance, the rival alliance, in the coming months. In the case of the majority of MSC-Lufthansa, the balance on profitable transatlantic routes (Europe – USA) will also change: thus Ita Airways will fly with Lufthansa, and on the other side of the ocean, with United Airlines that will have to ensure continuity in The rest of the USA and other parts of the Americas are not covered by the Ita and Lufthansa network.
from Brussels
In the morning, a spokeswoman for the European Commission clarified that there was no longer a ban on Lufthansa from making acquisitions imposed when the European Union authorized the company’s recapitalization (6 billion euros overall) for Covid because the company had more than 75% of the aid received returned. “We have agreed to a plan to recapitalize Lufthansa on certain conditions – the spokeswoman explained -. The terms also included, among other things, a ban on the acquisition. Lufthansa remains committed in most circumstances, but given that most of the aid has been paid, the ban has been rescinded,” the spokeswoman explained. imposed on takeovers and limits on directors’ remuneration.”
Master’s
Msc (Mediterranean Shipping Company) is a marine giant in the shipping and logistics sector. It was founded in 1970 and is headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, where it is controlled by the Aponte family. The group has a cargo division (MSc, Teal, Midlog, MSc Ship Management Ltd) and a passenger division (Msc Cruises, Grandi Navi Veloci, Snav): on cruises they carried 2.7 million customers in 2019 – before Covid – in 102 countries visited and 239 itineraries . More than 100,000 people work in the group.
reactions
“The expression of interest from MSC and Lufthansa is positive news for the future of the national airline,” said Fnta, who represents the pilots and flight attendants. “These are two very strong partners that can ensure a future of development for Ita Airways with excellent international standing.” Deputy Leo Stefano Fasina has a different opinion: “The majority of ETA should stay with the Italian state,” he said. “Industrial partnerships are essential, and as ETA management has repeatedly told us at the hearing, the shipments have great potential for Italy. Therefore, offers from Lufthansa and MSC should be evaluated with great interest, but the government should clarify Italy’s position immediately.”