Air France-KLM and Delta In Negotiations to Buy ITA Airways

An investor group that includes Air France-KLM and Delta Air Lines, are in exclusive negotiations to buy Italy’s national carrier ITA Airways. The group, which is led by Certares, was elected over a rival bid from a team that included Lufthansa.

Italy’s Ministry of Finance is running the process to find a new owner for ITA Airways. The sale process now moves a step closer after the potential buyers were revealed in an official statement today.

The Finance Ministry revealed that the Certares-led bid was more in line with its aims and now looks to have seen off a rival bid from German carrier Lufthansa and Swiss shipping group MSC.

Bids for ITA Airways were initially required to be submitted in May, but then the deadline was extended until August 23rd. The Italian government claimed the bids weren’t good enough and invited interested investors to resubmit proposals.

The Certares bid is reportedly for 600 million euros for a 55% stake. Certares gets 40.1%, 9.9% goes to Air France-KLM, 5% for Delta, and the remaining 45% will be publicly owned.

There are still many steps to be completed, including regulatory hurdles. Plus with elections coming up in Italy, the deal could be completely scrapped if another party comes in power.