The Strategist

Lufthansa acquires 41% of ITA Airways



05/26/2023 - 03:47



Italian Ministry of Economy and Finance and Lufthansa Group have announced that the German airline has purchased a part in ITA Airways (formerly Alitalia), the national carrier of Italy.



BriYYZ
BriYYZ
41% of ITA were purchased by Lufthansa for €325 million. It is an option for Lufthansa to grow its ownership of the Italian business. The German corporation may eventually boost its share to 90%, according to Bloomberg's sources.

The airline Alitalia, which went out of business due to financial difficulties, served as the foundation for the creation of ITA in 2020. So far, the only stakeholder of ITA was the Italian government, which has been hunting for a potential purchase for the struggling airline.

Lufthansa has already said it will increase the size of the ITA fleet from the current 71 aircraft to 94 by 2027. The company's staff will need to grow to 5.5 thousand employees by the same period. Revenue of ITA, according to plan of Italian government and Lufthansa, should grow from €2.5 billion, expected by the end of this year, to €4.1 billion in 2027.

source: reuters.com