Ita Airways-Lufthansa closing postponed, there is stalemate over the future Board of Directors

Closing of negotiations foracquisition of Ita Airways postponed by Lufthansa. The meeting on first call was not held and was rescheduled for Wednesday 15 January. At the moment, therefore, the new Board of Directors of Ita has not yet been established, with the five seats which will be divided between the names expressed by the Ministry of Economy and those decided by Lufthansa, of which one is the manager Joerg Eberhartwith the powers of managing director.

Board decision on the future of Lufthansa-Ita postponed

There are those who talk about voltage within the government for the appointment of seats on the Administrative Council of Ita Airways. What is known at the moment is that the match was not closed during the day, with the assembly postponed to Wednesday 15 January.

The company will appoint two of the five directors who will sit on the Board of Directors, among them Joerg Eberhart as CEO. The Italian State, however, through the Minister of Economy, will maintain the for a short while longer 59% control of the shares and for this reason he is called upon to appoint three directors.

In short, no tragedy, the day of the definitive signing was simply postponed to iron out the details of the operation.

Purchase transaction: date and fee

On balance, because this is what it was about, the called meeting was postponed and consequently also the payment by Lufthansa for the purchase of 41% of the shares of Ita Airways. The value is 325 million eurosbut it’s just the beginning.

In fact, by the end of 2025, Lufthansa will be able to purchase up to 90% of the Italian flag carrier. The second tranche includes a further investment of 325 million euros, plus a possible one bonus of 100 million euros whether certain objectives will be achieved.

Finally, we would like to remind you that the purchase, which received the approval from the European Union following negotiations regarding guarantees to avoid monopoly situations on some routes, provides for the achievement of 100% of the shares by 2029 Lufthansa. The last tranche will cost the airline another 79 million euros. An important investment, but one that the CEO of Lufthansa, Carsten Spohrhe made it very clear by specifying how Italy will become the second most important market in Europe for the company.