Optimistic about Lufthansa-ITA deal - Spohr

(ANSA) - ROME, MAR 20 - Lufthansa is "optimistic" that its acquisition of a 41% stake in Italy's ITA Airways will get the go-ahead from the European Commission, CEO Carsten Spohr said Wednesday.
    "We want to close the agreement" with ITA "as soon as possible" by receiving the green light from Brussels, Spohr told reporters on the sidelines of the Aviation Summit in the Belgian capital.
    "I am still optimistic because every politician I talk to in Berlin, Rome and also in Brussels understands that ITA deserves a future, that the Italian economy deserves to be connected in the future, and that the cooperation between Lufthansa and ITA is the answer," he continued.
    "I would not work in aviation if I was not an optimistic person," Spohr added.
    In January the European Commission launched an in-depth investigation into the proposed deal between Lufthansa and ITA Airways, taking to phase two the antitrust examination of the transaction that began in late November after the Italian Treasury, currently the sole owner of the company that replaced the loss-making former flag-carrier Alitalia in 2021, and the German carrier formally notified Brussels of the plans for the merger against an investment by the German carrier of 325 million euros.
    Last Thursday European Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager said the EU executive's approval of the deal is dependant on how the companies aim to resolve problems regarding routes.
    "We have to wait a little longer," Vestager told RaiNews24 on the sidelines of the G7 Industry meeting in Verona when asked about when the Commission would make a decision on the deal.
    "It depends on how the companies respond.
    "A very detailed examination has been done to see if there are any overlaps on routes.
    "If the both fly the same routes, one would have to close theirs, and so prices would increase.
    "We are waiting to find a solution to this problem, both from ITA and Lufthansa, so that this merger can take place," she concluded. (ANSA).