Lufthansa to acquire 41 percent of ITA shares for 325 million euro through capital increase. Thus, the transaction will directly benefit the company. As part of the agreement, MEF is in turn committed to increasing the capital of ITA Airways by 250 million euros.
In addition, MEF and Lufthansa have agreed on options to allow Lufthansa to acquire the remaining shares at a later date. The purchase price of the remaining shares will be determined depending on the development of ITA Airways' business. It is expected that the contract finalization of the agreement will be completed in the near future.
The acquisition of a minority stake is subject to the approval of the relevant authorities. Following the completion of this transaction, ITA Airways and the Lufthansa Group are expected to immediately begin their commercial and operational cooperation.
As a network airline, ITA will work closely with the Lufthansa Group to maximize the value of the merger with the group. ITA Airways will become the fifth network carrier in the Lufthansa Group's multi-brand system.
Italy represents the most important market outside the countries where Lufthansa the United States is already present, where the German carrier has not yet been called. Italy is the third largest economy in Europe in terms of gross domestic product, with a strong export-oriented economy. This is one of the many reasons why business travel to and from Italy is important. And for tourists, the country is one of the most popular holiday destinations in the world.
Experts believe that today's agreement is a win-win for Italy, ITA Airways and the Lufthansa Group. This is also good news for Italian and European consumers, because the strengthening of ITA will increase competition in the Italian market.
As a young company with a modern fleet and an efficient, expanding hub in Rome, ITA is a perfect fit for the Lufthansa Group. In Milan, ITA serves a vast area that also has potential for growth.
As part of the Lufthansa Group family, ITA has the potential to become a sustainable and profitable airline connecting Italy with Europe and the rest of the world.
ITA Airways was founded in November 2020 and today has around 4,000 employees. The airline, headquartered in Rome, serves more than 10 million passengers a year and has a modern fleet of 66 Airbus aircraft.
The Rome center is ideally placed to further diversify the ITA network towards Africa and Latin America. ITA currently serves 64 destinations: 21 domestic destinations, 33 international and 10 intercontinental.
As part of the Lufthansa Group, ITA will remain an independent airline with its own management and corporate identity.
In At the same time, ITA will gain access to a partner network, centralized revenue management and the use of Lufthansa Group's global sales and marketing channels. To ensure ITA's sustainable growth, the Lufthansa Group intends to expand intermodal transport within Italy. To this end, last February the Lufthansa Group signed a memorandum of understanding with the Italian state railway company Ferrovie dello Stato Italiane S.p.A. The aim of the partnership is to increasingly transport passengers in Italy by rail to and from the respective flights at various airports in Italy. The Lufthansa Group is already implementing similar intermodal cooperation programs in its home markets, including Deutsche Bahn, the Austrian ÖBB and the Swiss Federal Railways.