The hour of decision is near on EU approval—or not—of the deal under which Germany’s Lufthansa Group is buying a 41% share of Italian state-owned airline ITA, with a plan for eventually owning it all.
Next week, July 2, is the date set by EU competition authorities for a decision, after a month’s delay from the original date and an unexpectedly thorough review of the proposal, which was originally expected to get easy approval.
Lufthansa has already agreed to give up a number of slots and routes from Milan and other shifts, and is reported to have recently offered more concessions to get the deal approved, including turning some long-haul routes now flown by ITA to other airlines.
ITA was created as a successor to the bankrupt Alitalia, and with the plan to sell it to a private owner once it was established; that plan has now stretched out over three years and multiple sets of negotiations, with Lufthansa the eventual winner.
