EU gives final approval to ITA-Lufthansa deal

(ANSA) - ROME, NOV 30 - The European Commission has given the final green light to Lufthansa's acquisition of a minority stake in Italy's ITA Airways, paving the way to the creation of the largest airline group in Europe.
    The final package of commitments sent by the Italian Economy and Finance Ministry (MEF), by the German airline and by the Italian carrier on November 11, after a long series of tensions, was deemed "coherent" with the an agreement already approved by Brussels on July 3.
    "We are satisfied with this new step, now we can go through the last mile", Economy Minister Giancarlo Giorgetti said late Friday after the Commission said it had approved the package.
    Lufthansa for its part said the authorization represented an important milestone, explaining that the final closing of the agreement "is currently expected for the beginning of 2025".
    Earlier this month, the MEF and Lufthansa reached a breakthrough in talks to overcome a problem that had put the German company's merger with ITA Airways on ice.
    The Treasury said the economic conditions envisaged in the 2023 contract for the merger did not undergo any changes.
    As a result of the breakthrough, the documents for the operation were signed and sent to the European Commission for final approval.
    According to the agreement reached last year, the German airline is acquiring 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.
    Under the package approved on Friday, EasyJet and Air France KLM would secure more routes.
    The MEF owns ITA, the company that replaced the loss-making former flag-carrier Alitalia in 2021. (ANSA).