Brussels is asking for additional time before giving the green light to the Ita Airways-Lufthansa operation. “They have put another stop to it. They have made us understand that we are going to the so-called phase two, so further months of in-depth studies will be needed”, says the Minister of Economy, Giancarlo Giorgettiintercepted in the Senate after the vote on the budget law.
“After having done exactly what was prescribed by the EU Commission itself – underlines the owner of the Mef, sole shareholder of Ita – the fact that we waste more time is not a positive thing”. And answering the question whether there is a competition problem, the minister replies that “according to them there is”. And so the long-awaited approval for the wedding between the German giant of the skies and the blue start-up will not arrive in mid-January but will be postponed by three months for further investigations, thus crossing into spring. When asked about the matter, the EU Commission took refuge behind a canon “no comment”, remembering only that the deadline for the first phase of the investigation remains January 15th.
Brussels received notification of the agreement between ITA and Lufthansa on November 30th. According to EU rules on mergers, Brussels initially has 25 working days to analyze the operation and give the green light. In case of further clarifications or remedies necessary to avoid disturbances in the internal market, the process provides for a further 90 days for examination. But extensions of 15 or 20 working days can also be granted. The two companies were asked to answer a myriad of questions: from slots to routes to staff to ticket prices.
But immediately the Antitrust lens it aimed straight at the multiple routes on which the two carriers already operate in “monopoly or duopoly situations” – especially the Lufthansa hubs, from Linate and Fiumicino to Frankfurt and Munich, passing through Vienna, Brussels and Zurich. For this reason, according to rumors, Ita decided to sacrifice the Milan-New York route. In fact, starting from January 8th, the direct connection between Milan Malpensa and New York JFK will be officially suspended.
Lufthansa aims to acquire 41% of Ita through a capital increase of 325 million euros, with the option to take over all the remaining shares in the hands of the Treasury at a later time and thus rise to 100% of the new company. As part of the agreement, the Mef has committed to a capital increase of 250 million euros, this is the third and final tranche of the overall 1.35 billion euro financing already authorized by the EU. The hope is that as soon as possible Ita, born from the ashes of Alitalia, can become part of a group that operates globally.
The Lufthansa galaxy includes over 300 companies between subsidiaries and affiliates, with a portfolio of companies that is made up of network carriers, point-to-point carriers and air transport service companies. Among the directly controlled companies are Austrian Airlines, Brussels Airlines, Swiss International, Air Dolomiti, Lufthansa Regional, Eurowings and Lufthansa Cargo. However, Ita’s entry into the Lufthansa group does not mean that its financial turning point is around the corner. The German giant has warned that it will take “some time” to turn ITA into a profitable company. However, there are encouraging signs: Ita aims to close the year with 15 million passengers and a turnover of 2.5 billion euros and reach economic break-even in 2024, i.e. “bringing forward by a year what was foreseen in the industrial plan” . (HANDLE).
Read the full article on ANSA.it
2023-12-22 19:11:00
#extends #lead #ItaLufthansa #Giorgetti #wasting #time
