Giorgetti to meet Spohr to break ITA-Lufthansa deadlock

(ANSA) - ROME, NOV 7 - Economy Minister Giancarlo Giorgetti will have a meeting in the next few days with Lufthansa CEO Carsten Spohr for talks aimed at saving the agreement for the German company's merger with ITA Airways, European sources said on Thursday.
    According to an agreement reached last year, the German airline is set to acquire from a 41% stake in ITA from MEF through a 325-million-euro capital increase, with the stake set to rise to 100% in a second phase - by 2033 - for a total investment of 829 million.
    But the deal was put on ice during talks late on Monday between the German carrier and the Italian economy ministry (MEF), which owns the company that replaced the loss-making former flag-carrier Alitalia in 2021.
    The German group reportedly wanted a reduction of around 10 million euros on the second tranche of just over half a billion euros.
    Sources said Lufthansa justified the request by referring to the cost of some investments it made following the 2023 deal.
    They said the ministry did not accept this because the investments had been agreed on in advance and because ITA's economic situation has improved and so, therefore, has its value.
    EU sources have said the deadline for the documentation on the operation to be handed in so the European Commission can assess it for final approval is November 11. (ANSA).