Etihad Airways (EY, Abu Dhabi International) will shortly present a provisional business proposal to its board regarding a 40% stake in Alitalia (AZA, Rome Fiumicino). A decision on whether or not to proceed with the acquisition will then be made Italy's La Stampa newspaper has reported.
"I think (the result of talks) will come soon," Italian Minister of Transport, Maurizio Lupi told a Senate hearing. Lupi had previously noted a deadline of March 31 for an outcome.
Despite its EUR800million (USD1.12billion) debt overhang, Italy's labour unions have fought tooth and nail to water down the Emiratis' demand that the airline cut its workforce down from 5'000 to 2'000.
Reuters newswire has further speculated that Etihad could merge Alitalia with its other European long-haul interest, Air Berlin (1991) (Berlin Tegel) in which it holds a 30% stake, "to create synergies and preserve Air Berlin's international traffic rights."
Last week, Air Berlin was forced to deny claims by German investor rights group SdK it was trying to hide its financial difficulties by twice delaying publication of its annual results.
"The company has sufficient liquidity and also has additional flexibility through an undrawn shareholder loan," the airline said in a statement to the newswire.
German media reports had stated that the Emiratis had expressed "dissatisfaction" with progress being made under Air Berlin's current turnaround strategy. The two airlines are still in talks over a possible recapitalization with reports Etihad is seeking to ramp up its stake to 49.9% - the maximum permissible under European ownership laws - which would give it a greater say in the airline's operations.
