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Alitalia bidders
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Message de aaa - Envoyé le 19 May 7:01 |
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Three bidders have been shortlisted in its auction
All three shortlisted bidders in the auction for Alitalia have made it to the next round after an assessment of their preliminary offers to buy the unprofitable airline, the Italian Treasury said on Monday.
The three -- Russian airline Aeroflot, a US private equity consortium led by TPG; formerly known as Texas Pacific Group, and smaller Italian carrier Air One -- are to present binding offers by the end of June.
They will be allowed into a so-called data room that gives them access to information on the airline's financial books, starting May 24.
That all three bidders remain is seen as a boost to the efforts of the Italian government -- which owns a 49.9 percent stake -- to secure a buyer for an airline that loses over a EUR1 million euros (USD$1.3 million) a day and struggles with frequent strikes.
Italian media had speculated that US private equity firm TPG could drop out of the process after the government last week barred any new entrants from joining existing bidding consortiums in the fray.
The Italian government is looking to sell at least 39.9 percent of the airline in an effort to turn it around, and has has set out a list of restrictions on what a buyer can do, including maintaining the Italianness of the airline.
Italy's transport minister has said any successful bidders must spend at least EUR1.5 billion (USD$2 billion) to buy the airline and invest another EUR1.5 billion after that.
But Air One chief, Carlo Toto, has said EUR5 billion is only about one-half of the total investment needed for the struggling airline.
Earlier Monday, Industry Minister Pierluigi Bersani denied the government had any favorite candidate, following speculation that Air One, the only Italian-led group in the fray, had the government's blessings
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Message de SJR - Envoyé le 19 May 11:19 |
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I knew that sooner all later Alitalia would be a least partially sold. I think that of all the potential runners that Air One is probably the most suitable but i wont discount Aeroflot either. Hopefully Alitalia will be around long into the future but if they can't get there act together then they will probably end up going in the same direction as Varig did which would be a tremendous shame.
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Message de aaa - Envoyé le 19 May 12:00 |
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Aeroflot is seeking up to USD$1.2 billion in loans from western banks to fund its purchase of 39.9 percent of Alitalia, Russia's Vedomosti newspaper said on Friday.
It quoted Mikhail Poluboyarinov, the Russian flag carrier's finance director, as saying Aeroflot had sent letters to 20 foreign banks, including Deutsche Bank, Citigroup, Commerzbank, ABN AMRO, Credit Suisse, BNP Paribas, Calyon, Royal Bank of Scotland and Unicredit, Aeroflot's bidding partner.
Vedomosti quoted a source involved in the talks with banks as saying that it hoped to borrow EUR500 million - EUR900 million (USD$676 million - USD$1.2 billion).
Poluboyarinov declined to name the amount but said it would be an unsecured, one-year loan and the airline expected answers from the banks by the end of May.
Apart from Aeroflot, the bidders for the Alitalia stake are a US private equity consortium led by Texas Pacific Group and smaller Italian carrier Air One.
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Message de aaa - Envoyé le 26 May 13:15 |
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Aeroflot is concerned about the finances of Italy's Alitalia and would be happier buying 39 percent rather than 49.9 percent of the struggling firm, Aeroflot said on Thursday.
Right now we understand that 39 percent will give us a majority on the board of directors. There is no point in buying 49 percent, Aeroflot's Finance Director Mikhail Poluboyarinov said, adding that the firm had begun due diligence of Alitalia and was preparing its bid.
The Italian government, which holds 49.9 percent, has asked for offers for at least 39.9 percent of the airline.
He said Aeroflot planned to borrow EUR800 million - EUR900 million euros for its bid and might issue Eurobonds to refinance the debt.
If we buy Alitalia, we will refinance on the market, and a Eurobond issue is not excluded, he said.
The Italian state has shortlisted three potential bidders who must submit binding offers by July 2.
The bidders also include US private equity group Texas Pacific Group and Alitalia's closest domestic rival, Air One. Aeroflot's state-controlled board would review the deal before June 15.
On Tuesday, Alitalia was forced to cancel more than 400 flights -- half its daily average -- due to strikes by cabin crews and air traffic controllers. A contract dispute with cabin crews forced it to cancel dozens more on Wednesday.
Aeroflot said it suspected the firm's financial situation could worsen further.
I suspect that Alitalia's figures might be even worse because otherwise they would not be hiding their annual accounts. We don't yet have the necessary information to make our calculations.
But it won't stop the Russian firm from bidding. Aeroflot has said it is bidding for Alitalia to get access to European markets without diverting resources from the domestic market.
We are preparing to make one of the most attractive bids, said Poluboyarinov. The bidders are due to gain access to Alitalia's data room on Thursday.
Aeroflot has long enjoyed state support as the government does not allow large international discounters to compete with it. It expects its 2007 unconsolidated net profits to international standards to amount to USD$220 million.
These are preliminary estimates. There could be some revisions due to customs payments for the arriving fleet, he said.
The firm has repeatedly complained about customs taxes, which make purchases of planes 40 percent more expensive. The cabinet has promised to abolish the taxes but has yet to do it.
Aeroflot has yet to report its 2006 results under international results. It reported a net profit of 7.98 billion roubles (USD$308.2 million) under Russian standards.
The firm's 2007 first quarter net profit to international standards more than doubled to USD$69.3 million
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Message de SJR - Envoyé le 26 May 15:20 |
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Well to be honest Aeroflot and Air One as i said are the best people to take charge. I wonder if this bid will result in the purchase of aircraft to replace its MD80 fleet. My personal guess would be a mixture of Airbus and Embraer equipment if an order is included in the deal since this would also be a commonality with the current AZ fleet and the fleets of both Aeroflot and Air One.
Hopefully Alitalia will be with us for some time yet and i was suprised that Eurofly didn't place an initial bid since it would fit with Alitalia quite nicely.
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Message de aaa - Envoyé le 31 May 22:18 |
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Alitalia shares fell to a year low on Wednesday after the list of potential buyers for Italy's stake in the loss-making airline shrank to two.
A consortium led by US private equity firm Texas Pacific Group said late on Tuesday it was withdrawing from bidding for Alitalia.
The pull-out left Italian airline Air One and Russian flag carrier Aeroflot vying for Alitalia. Both bids are supported by Italian banks -- Aeroflot's by UniCredit, and Air One's by Intesa Sanpaolo.
A source close to Air One said the airline was staying in the bidding process.
Prime Minister Romano Prodi said the auction would continue as planned and that the TPG-led consortium had not further explained why it pulled out. In the written statement on Tuesday, it cited only inability to comply with procedural rules.
The competitors were three, now they are two, Prodi said. The auction is going forward
Italy's center-left government, which had shortlisted three final bidders, has set July 2 as the deadline for binding offers. It is selling at least 39.9 percent from the 49.9 percent it holds and is willing to sell the entire stake if a bidder wants it.
TPG had bid for Alitalia in a consortium with peer MatlinPatterson and Italian merchant bank Mediobanca.
But it recently announced it had joined British Airways in bidding for another European flag carrier, Spain's Iberia.
Sources familiar with the matter said in March that if TPG were to buy one of the two airlines, it would withdraw from talks on the other.
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Message de aaa - Envoyé le 28 Jun 10:10 |
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Aeroflot pulled out of the bidding for Alitalia on Wednesday, leaving Rome's auction of the unprofitable airline in danger of collapse with just two players left.
The Russian carrier's departure leaves smaller domestic airline Air One and US private equity fund MatlinPatterson as the only potential bidders ahead of a July 12 deadline to submit binding offers for the USD$1.6 billion airline.
The center-left government's headaches were exacerbated when Air One said it would slash 12 percent of Alitalia's workforce if it won control.
Though Aeroflot was not the favorite to win, its presence had given credibility to an auction lacking in big airline names and marred by the earlier departures of other contenders such as US fund TPG and Italian businessman Carlo de Benedetti.
Aeroflot, which was bidding with one of Italy's biggest banks UniCredit, cited a lack of access to crucial information on Alitalia and restrictive conditions on the sale that would have hampered its ability to turn around the carrier.
Air One has the backing of the country's largest retail lender Intesa Sanpaolo, whose chairman is a long-time friend of Prime Minister Romano Prodi.
Analysts had considered Air One and Aeroflot as the only serious contenders to buy Alitalia, and Italian media had speculated that MatlinPatterson could pull out soon or team up with the smaller Italian carrier's consortium.
Either of those two scenarios could leave the Italian government with the prospect of handing its national carrier to Air One, a much smaller airline whose annual revenues barely match the annual losses of its larger rival.
Abandoning the bid is a negative for Aeroflot as well, since a deal could have been a catalyst for the Russian carrier's privatization, said Uralsib Bank's Andrei Nikitin.
Aeroflot's withdrawal came as Alitalia's shareholders met on Wednesday to discuss the airline's precarious financial condition after writing down the value of its fleet last month.
Chairman Berardino Libonati asked them to approve using EUR150 million euros (USD$201.5 million) of reserves to reduce losses in the first quarter and last year.
The write down had pushed Alitalia's 2006 net loss to more than a third of its market value, triggering the need for a capital increase under Italian law and sparking fears that Rome might have to pump more money into the airline.
Air One, meanwhile, pressed on with its offer, meeting Alitalia's unions on Wednesday and outlining a plan to turn around the airline by cutting 2,350 jobs, negotiating new contracts and replacing part of its fleet with Airbus planes.
But critics say Air One, Alitalia's closest domestic rival, would have too much control over the Italian market with Alitalia in its pocket. The European Union signaled it could have objections.
Brussels blocked Irish carrier Ryanair's bid for compatriot Aer Lingus on Wednesday, saying that it would make it impossible for new airlines to enter the Irish market. It said it would handle other takeovers such as Alitalia's in a consistent fashion.
Italy's government, which launched the auction for Alitalia in December and has actively courted Russian political and business leaders in recent months, has been criticized by unions and the opposition over its handling of the sale.
Rome put its 49.9 percent stake in Alitalia up for sale after repeated restructuring efforts had failed to return it to profitability.
It attracted 11 bidders initially, before the list was shortened to three allowed to submit binding offers.
One of the three, US private equity fund TPG, pulled out soon after. MatlinPatterson was a partner in that group and returned to the fray earlier this month, after which Italy extended the deadline to submit binding offers.
Alitalia is burdened by strikes, losses and frequent government interference, and analysts say the airline would be lucky to find a buyer even at a price tag well below its market value.
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Message de aaa - Envoyé le 29 Jun 21:41 |
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Air France KLM said again on Friday it was not considering a tie-up with Alitalia after a report that its board had discussed the loss-making airline which the Italian government is struggling to sell.
The report cited a source close to the board and several Italian newspapers picked up the report.
Talks with Alitalia are not on the agenda, said a spokeswoman for Air France KLM, which is a commercial partner of Alitalia and is frequently mentioned in the Italian media as a possible suitor for their ailing national airline.
Air France KLM did not register at the start of the auction in January, saying conditions were not right, and has since either declined comment or denied reports of involvement.
Italy's government launched the sale of Alitalia, which loses over 1 million euros a day, at the end of 2006 and the deadline for binding offers is July 12.
Russian airline Aeroflot pulled out of the bidding on June 27 citing a lack of information, leaving the auction with only two players in evidence.
Italian domestic carrier Air One, whose annual turnover barely matches Alitalia's losses, is looking at a bid with the backing of Italy's biggest retail bank Intesa Sanpaolo.
US private equity fund MatlinPatterson re-entered the process earlier this month and the treasury extended the bid deadline for 10 days.
Rome put its 49.9 percent stake in the airline up for sale after repeated restructuring efforts failed to return the strike-prone carrier to profitability.
It initially attracted 11 bidders but this was whittled down to three who were allowed into the final phase.
MatlinPatterson's previous grouping with private equity fund TPG pulled out at the end of May.
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Message de aaa - Envoyé le 05 Jul 9:28 |
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Rome is doubtful over the interest of one of the two bidders left in the auction of Alitalia but is not looking at alternative plans to salvage the airline, Italy's transport minister said on Wednesday.
His comments come as the withdrawal of various potential suitors, most recently Russian airline Aeroflot, leaves Alitalia's auction on the verge of collapse and speculation grows about what Rome might do should the tender fail.
We are not in the least thinking of alternative options, Alessandro Bianchi, Italy's transport minister, told reporters. We are focused on 'Plan A' .
But he said he was doubtful on the commitment of US buyout fund MatlinPatterson, which re-entered the auction last month though few see it as a real contender to buy the airline.
They don't seem to have given big signs of life (in the auction,) Bianchi said.
Italian media have speculated that the buyout fund would eventually follow Aeroflot's footsteps and depart from the auction, and that it was unlikely to make a binding offer for the airline.
Binding offers are due on July 12.
With just small Italian carrier Air One left in apart from MatlinPatterson, Italian newspaper Il Sole 24 Ore on Wednesday reported that Rome was studying alternatives should the auction collapse.
The government could shut down Alitalia or reopen talks with the airline's long-time partner Air France, which has repeatedly said it has no interest in bidding unless Alitalia turns itself around, the newspaper reported.
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Message de SJR - Envoyé le 05 Jul 18:24 |
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Well Air France, KLM has seen what has happened to Alitalia over the years it has thrown away ridiculous amounts of money. This leaves them no reason to invest in the airline. I suspect that Air One will be an interesting pairing though because aren't they in some part at least actually owned by Lufthansa. Maybe that would spur Air France KLM into action since Lufthansa is its biggest rival. Only time will tell but this could well be the last few weeks of Alitalia. 
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Message de aaa - Envoyé le 19 Jul 22:14 |
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Air One has pulled out of the bidding for Alitalia citing impossible conditions, leaving Rome's plans to auction the loss-making carrier in tatters ahead of Monday's deadline for final offers.
The departure of domestic carrier Air One raises questions on whether a different procedure for the crucial sale is needed.
The privatization has basically failed given that the only credible suitor has withdrawn, said Mauro Rossi, head of one of Alitalia's major unions FILT-CGIL.
The Treasury declined to comment, while Prime Minister Romano Prodi was not immediately available to comment.
Failure to sell loss-making Alitalia would be a big setback for Prodi's center-left government, which put the airline up for auction seven months ago in an attempt to sort out its problems after previous efforts to turn it around failed.
And it would come as the government, which was elected just over a year ago with a wafer-thin majority, slumps in the polls and struggles to reach agreement with unions on key pension reforms.
Rome has been criticized for adding to Alitalia's woes by imposing restrictive sale conditions.
Air One, a small carrier with annual revenues that barely match Alitalia's annual losses, joined that list on Tuesday, citing a modified contract from Rome outlining the terms of the sale as the reason behind its decision to quit.
The conditions presented in the contract do not allow... the development of a strong entrepreneurial project to revive and relaunch Alitalia, Air One said in a statement.
But it remained interested and said it would continue to monitor developments.
Air One had asked for changes that would have allowed it to back out of a deal if antitrust authorities imposed onerous conditions, a source closely involved said, and if it was unable to reach a deal with Alitalia's strike-prone unions, according to Italian newspaper Il Sole 24 Ore.
Alitalia's long-time commercial partner, Air France, has snubbed the auction, saying it was not interested under current conditions. That has not stopped Italian media from speculating the Dutch-French carrier could still come to the rescue.
Analysts say the future of Alitalia, which has a market value of about USD$1.5 billion, could be in jeopardy if the auction collapses.
The airline needs another cash injection after writing down its fleet in May, but any attempt by Rome to pump in more money would meet stiff resistance from the European Union and would be unpopular politically.
Prodi's political opponents were quick to take advantage of the latest setback.
Now that the privatization plan for Alitalia is fading, the future looks extremely bleak, said opposition leader Gianfranco Fini, who heads the National Alliance party.
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Message de SJR - Envoyé le 19 Jul 10:53 |
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This could well be the end for Alitalia and sadly with this latest news that looks even more likely. If Air France KLM were going to buy Alitalia they would wait for it to go completely under because they would be able to pick it up cheaper and completely restructure it. With Alitalia being government owned i very much doubt that this will happen which is a tremendous shame. Now we just have to wait and see what happens.
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Message de aaa - Envoyé le 19 Jul 21:42 |
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Liquidation is the only option for Italian flag carrier Alitalia if the loss-making airline is not sold, Economy Minister Tommaso Padoa-Schioppa said in an interview published on Thursday.
The Treasury has officially declared the seven month auction for Alitalia shut with no sale after the last bidders pulled out, with Rome's restrictive terms cited as a major deterrent.
Other than a sale, there is only liquidation, Padoa-Schioppa told Corriere della Sera newspaper. He added that the center-left government was looking at alternatives to sell its stake.
This is a company that is losing money, in which the state cannot inject any more capital, he said. Making Alitalia attractive to an investor seems more difficult than we thought.
The government has said it would look at all options, including opening direct talks with former bidders, to keep hopes of a sale alive and avoid putting Alitalia into administration.
The European Commission said on Wednesday Rome could not dole out any further state aid to Alitalia.
All three final bidders -- Russia's Aeroflot, US funds MatlinPatterson and TPG, and Italian carrier Air One -- have suggested they could be tempted back if terms were changed.
Alitalia is losing more than a million euros a day and needs another cash injection after writing down its fleet in May.
A failure to sell Alitalia would be a big setback for the government. It has slumped in polls and is in the midst of difficult talks over pension reform with unions.
Alitalia has called a board meeting for Friday.
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Message de aaa - Envoyé le 24 Jul 21:06 |
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Options Running Out To Save Alitalia
Italy is happy to sell Alitalia to anyone willing to turn the loss-making national airline around -- no matter where the new owners come from, an Italian minister said.
Embarrassed by the collapse of Alitalia's auction last week when the last bidders pulled out, Rome is now scrambling for new options to sell the airline and prevent it from being shut down.
If they can make it work, we welcome even Eskimos or the Chinese, said European Affairs Minister Emma Bonino said at a news conference. That would be satisfying from the point of view of Italian consumers.
Several bidders in the seven month auction had pulled out citing restrictive terms imposed by Rome on the sale -- which include maintaining the Italianness of the airline. The final contenders included Russia's Aeroflot and a US private equity group.
Another Italian minister last week compared Alitalia to a diseased limb and suggested selling it off for one euro to anyone willing to take it off Rome's hands or letting it go bankrupt.
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Message de SJR - Envoyé le 25 Jul 22:49 |
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Message de FLX - Envoyé le 25 Jul 5:03 |
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I find the remarks made by European Affairs Minister Emma Bonino ...we welcome even Eskimos or the Chinese... racially discriminating. What does it mean by even ? The statement implies inferior/2nd class potential bidding parties.
Don't know much about successful global aviation businesses run by Eskimos(?May be some Sr. mgrs in Alaska Airlines?) but any of the big3 Chinese airlines(China Southern, Air China, China Eastern) easily out-perform and out-size Alitalia by an astronomical margin today in almost all relevant counts(RPM/RPKMs, Fleet, Route network, Pax served, Load-factor, Cargo, Cashflow, etc.). That's excluding their expected rapid growth rates in the near future which most experts agreed.
Before making such disrespectful statement, may be Ms Bonino and her team need to do more research on potential bidders she really wishes to invite. At the minimum, pls try not to annoy the remaining few potential bidders which hv not been invited yet but possess the enormous financial means and clouts to save Alitalia. Wake up and smell the cappuccino Ms Bonino! Super rich & successful Chinese tourists not only can buy huge quantities of genuine Gucci and Armani in Milan, they can easily afford to acquire Alitalia if they wish.
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Message de SJR - Envoyé le 25 Jul 10:52 |
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Yes now that i think about it those remarks are rather discriminative. Although i doubt the words used were ment to offend they do.
I wonder whether Lufthansa will be interested in Alitalia now as well. The american airlines will be interested in one Alitalia asset. Slots at LHR and other busy airports such as Frankfurt and Paris. Whatever happens i wish Alitalia the best of luck because frankly it is going to need it!
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Message de aaa - Envoyé le 30 Jul 21:41 |
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[b] One Less Option To Save Alitalia [/b]
Italy cannot hope to sell Alitalia through private negotiations with suitors because that would be challenged by the courts, the economy minister said, highlighting Rome's dwindling options to save the airline.
The Italian Treasury, which has a 49.9 percent stake in Alitalia, is struggling to decide its next move to salvage the money-losing carrier after its seven-month auction collapsed earlier this month.
Economy Minister Tomasso Padoa-Schioppa last week said Rome was debating whether to start a new bidding process from scratch or begin direct talks with potential suitors, but backed away from the latter option on Sunday.
This the state cannot do, I can't do it as the economy minister, he said at a book discussion. The audit courts won't allow it. The judges would begin to investigate the motive with which I began to negotiate with buyer X instead of buyer Y.
After being embarrassed by the collapse of its plans to sell Alitalia, the Italian government is now under attack from unions and the opposition for dragging its feet on finalizing the next step to rescue Alitalia.
Alitalia loses more than a million euros a day, suffers from frequent strikes and widespread inefficiency.
As bad as things may be at Alitalia, Padoa-Schioppa reiterated that he did not expect the airline to go bankrupt and that it could be revived without such traumatic moves.
The airline's woes were the fruit of at least 30 years of missteps, he said, blaming politics, unions, management and the entire system within which it functioned.
A slow descent into an ever more critical situation in which there was a chronic lag in understanding that this was a prosperous, protected company that did not have competitors, was always under much less competition than in other countries, he said.
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Message de aaa - Envoyé le 02 Aug 10:43 |
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Alitalia Chairman Resigns On Eve Of Board Meeting
In a twist of boardroom drama befitting the crisis at Italian airline Alitalia, its chairman Barardino Libonati resigned on Tuesday on the eve of a crucial board meeting that will decide its future.
Libonati, who was appointed in February to guide the airline's privatization, resigned after all the prospective buyers withdrew from the sale earlier this month. Libonati's predecessor as chairman of the airline, Giancarlo Cimoli, was ousted by the government in January.
This is an emergency in an emergency, said opposition parliamentarian Giorgio Jannone of Libonati's resignation. Another opposition politician, Piergiorgio Stiffoni, went further, saying the airline should be allowed to go bankrupt as a means to its salvation.
By now, the situation has become cancerous. A surgeon and bankruptcy court must intervene, he said.
The Alitalia board meets on Wednesday to discuss the airline's future and Italian newspapers have speculated that the government is increasingly seen as choosing a recapitalization as the main guideline for the airline's privatization.
The Italian Treasury, which has a 49.9 percent stake in Alitalia, is struggling to decide its next move to salvage the money-losing carrier after its seven month auction collapsed earlier this month.
Alitalia loses more than EUR1 million euros a day and suffers from frequent strikes.
In a separate statement, the Treasury said it took note of Libonati's resignation and that it would nominate Maurizio Prato to be new chairman at Wednesday's board meeting. Prato is currently chairman and managing director of Fintecna.
The Treasury said the government still intended to privatize Alitalia.
It said it hoped the new chairman could quickly find industrial and financial groups willing to buy a controlling stake in Alitalia.
The Treasury said whoever buys the airline must be committed to relaunching and developing Alitalia, but reminded perspective buyers that the government believes the company had to continue to play a key role in the country's air transport.
Sales conditions -- such as maintaining the Italian identity of the airline among others -- were widely criticized by bidders, who withdrew.
After being embarrassed by the collapse of its plans to sell Alitalia, the Italian government is now under attack from unions and the opposition for dragging its feet on finalizing the next step to rescue Alitalia.
Economy Minister Tomasso Padoa-Schioppa has said Italy cannot hope to sell Alitalia through private negotiations with suitors because that would be challenged by the courts.
The European Commission has warned it will not allow Rome to give more money to the airline.
The Treasury has said that in the event of a capital increase, it would sell its rights to additional shares, effectively diluting its stake.
All three finalists in the auction -- smaller Italian rival Air One, a US private equity consortium led by TPG and MatlinPatterson, and Russia's Aeroflot -- have said they would consider bidding if the terms of a sale were changed.
Minutes before Libonati resigned, Alitalia reported that its net debt was EUR1.034 billion (USD$1.42 billion) at the end of June, down 1.7 percent from a month earlier.
The airline said that cash-to-hand and short-term financial credits amounted to EUR612 million at the end of June, little changed from the end of May.
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Message de aaa - Envoyé le 02 Aug 10:44 |
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[b] Alitalia Delays Decision, Critics Call For Probe[/b]
Italian lawmakers called for a probe and suspension of trading in Alitalia shares, which tumbled more than 7 percent on Wednesday after the airline once again put off decisions on a rescue plan, until after the August holidays.
Rome is facing growing criticism for its handling of Alitalia's sale process, which has stalled after efforts to auction the government's 49.9 percent stake collapsed last month when all the bidders pulled out.
Roberto Maroni, a leader of one of Italy's main opposition parties, led a chorus of calls for an immediate suspension of trading in Alitalia and said his Northern League party would ask Milan magistrates to investigate to see whether any crimes had been committed during the sale process.
Embarrassingly for Prime Minister Romano Prodi, a member of his ruling coalition, Egidio Pedrini of the small Italy of Values party, also called for a trading suspension.
But a source close to Consob said there were no grounds for suspension of trading, although the stock market regulator would continue to keep a close eye on the stock.
Alitalia's board, which was expected on Wednesday to unveil a new plan to resuscitate the airline after the failed auction effort, instead said it would delay that until an August 30 board meeting, as new Chairman Maurizio Prato needed more time.
That came just a day after the Italian Treasury said it hoped Alitalia's management could pinpoint options to cut the government's stake in the airline.
Prato, who was formally backed by the board on Wednesday, was nominated to the post by the Treasury to replace Berardino Libonati, who resigned on Tuesday.
The new chairman is expected to meet the airline's notoriously strike-prone unions on Thursday.
Opposition lawmakers and unions have already attacked the government in the past for dragging its feet as it juggles dwindling options to save the airline, which employs 20,000 people.
Economy Minister Tommaso Padoa-Schioppa has ruled out starting private negotiations with suitors, since they could be challenged by the courts, and suggested Rome could cut its controlling stake through a capital increase.
Alitalia's board has already twice postponed decisions on an industrial plan to move forward after the auction's collapse.
Alitalia initially convened a July 20 board meeting to discuss its fate after the auction failed. That meeting was adjourned to July 27 and delayed until Wednesday before the latest revision to August 30.
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Message de aaa - Envoyé le 11 Aug 22:07 |
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A mostly Italian group has expressed interest in buying state-controlled airline Alitalia, following the failed auction for the carrier, the group's lawyer Antonio Baldassarre said.
Baldassarre said the potential bidders had yet to present their interest to the airline. But he added the group intended to keep current job levels stable, keep its management Italian and widen Alitalia's flight network.
The expression of interest was presented to the Economy Ministry, which has told us to direct it to Alitalia. But we have not yet met with (Alitalia's) new chairman Maurizio Prato, Baldassarre said.
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Message de aaa - Envoyé le 15 Aug 21:34 |
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A largely Italian consortium of financiers and entrepreneurs has expressed interest in buying ailing Italian airline Alitalia, which is struggling to find a buyer, the group's lawyer said on Friday.
The previously unknown group joins a handful of companies who say they could consider buying the loss-making airline, though the Italian government's attempt to sell it through an auction failed last month when all bidders pulled out.
Rome, which has a 49.9 percent stake in the airline, says it still wants to shed the stake but has handed responsibility for finding a buyer to Alitalia's management -- and it is unclear who, if anyone, is in the lead to buy it this time around.
The new group has more than five Italian and foreign members that represent both financial and corporate interests, said its lawyer Antonio Baldassarre, a former chairman of Italy's constitutional court.
He declined to identify the members, but said none of them had participated in the auction that collapsed.
Financing is not a problem, Baldassarre said, adding that banks had stakes in the group's financial participants.
But the group's emergence on the scene failed to prevent shares in Alitalia, worth about USD$1.5 billion on the market, from dipping 0.7 percent amid a broadly lower market.
The group has presented its interest to the Italian Treasury, but has yet to do so directly with the airline, he said.
It does not plan to cut jobs and would keep Alitalia's management Italian and widen its flight network, he said. That contrasts with the view of most industry analysts and experts, who say Alitalia needs a sharp restructuring with layoffs if it is to become profitable again.
Italy last month called off its seven month auction of the national airline after bidders pulled out citing restrictive conditions imposed on the sale, throwing the future of the airline into doubt.
Alitalia's newly appointed chairman Maurizio Prato is expected to meet representatives of rival airlines Lufthansa and Air France-KLM in coming days to discuss whether they are interested in buying the airline, Italian media say.
Air France-KLM, once considered the Italian carrier's most likely buyer, has repeatedly denied any interest in rescuing it now but on Thursday said it would listen if approached.
Lufthansa said last month it would be prepared to look at Alitalia if the conditions of a sale changed.
All the final contenders in the failed auction -- Russian airline Aeroflot, US private equity firms MatlinPatterson and TPG and smaller Italian carrier Air One -- say they would be interested again if Italy relaxed the terms of the sale.
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Message de aaa - Envoyé le 10 Oct 22:18 |
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Alitalia said on Monday it had shortlisted six possible bidders for a stake in the troubled airline, whose auction by the government flopped in July.
It said the shortlisted investors were: Aeroflot, Air France-KLM, Lufthansa, smaller domestic rival Air One, US private equity firm TPG, and a consortium led by a former chairman of Italy's constitutional court.
Air One, Aeroflot and TPG all took part in the government's auction process but pulled out, while Air France-KLM and Lufthansa spurned that sale but have since suggested there might be interest if conditions changed.
Alitalia said in a statement its board had decided to carry out discussions to assess the interest of these six possible suitors, adding it hoped to complete talks as soon as possible.
A financial source said all options were still open on what kind of interest the shortlisted candidates might have, adding that parties were not talking specifics at the moment.
Air France-KLM has previously said it would be willing to listen to any proposition Alitalia makes but would not do a deal unless it created value for the airline.
A Lufthansa spokeswoman said a partnership with Alitalia must make sense for both sides, adding the German airline was basically open for possible talks.
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Message de FLX - Envoyé le 10 Oct 7:01 |
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How many times hv we heard the same 'tune' for this music?
All parties just seem to repeat saying the same damn thing again and again and again and again and yet, again. While the music repeats itself for almost a yr, Alitalia continues to bleed like hell and nobody, especially its Italian gov't owner, seems to hv a sense of urgency.
Are there Italian words exist for the English term Efficient Decision-making ?
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Message de captain bill - Envoyé le 10 Oct 7:13 |
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Your right FLX the Italian gov'nt dont seem to care and the bidders know this and will string this out as long as they can so they don't have to pay a lot of money to get hold of Alitalia.
I think the best solution would be either an Air France / K.L.M. or Lufthansa takeover with the AF/KL one being the one I think would be the best option.
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Message de SJR - Envoyé le 10 Oct 20:07 |
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My money would be on Air France / KLM taking over Alitalia and i can also see British Airways even though its profitable becoming a potential future target of on of the two European giants that are controlling most of Western Europe.
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Message de FLX - Envoyé le 11 Oct 9:29 |
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When I was in college back in 91-92, I majored in Transportation & Logistics Mgmt(My current job has nothing to do with this, what a shame!) and 1 of my favourite courses is Air Transportation mgmt. I remember we were studying about the emerging trend of airline industry consolidation. Our professor and some early research predicted that at the end, all national carriers/major airlines would be merged or tightly aligned into 3-4 global super alliance groupings running tons of code-sharing. The remaining airlines would all be confined into smaller niche mkts such as regional feeder, LCC, resort routes, charter, etc. It's a pretty radical theory given the national sentiments the general public typically has attached to their flag carriers @ that time. Also, there were no multi-lateral global alliances @ that time.
Look around today, it's pretty clear how well that theory has been holding-up. Only a few national/major carriers hv not joined or aren't actively seeking to join global alliances. The only exceptions I can think of that can afford to remain independent are based in the oil-rich Mid-East or connected to Mr Branson's high-profile empire.
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Message de alertken - Envoyé le 17 Oct 7:30 |
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Louis Gialoretto (Montreal Uni), 1988, Strategic Airline Management: Royal Ameripore Airlines .
Neither AZ staff nor its owner, It.State, have grasped what borderless competition means. There is no need for hard-working Italian taxpayers, an endangered species, to prop up privilege for a supplier of a simple commodity. Wizzes and Winds narrow the AZ niche to J-Class. LH survived looming bankruptcy c.1997 by rolling up their sleeves: AZ must do the same, promptly. BA need not enter this auction : if their Project Lauren all-J scheme from EU ports includes an MXP-JFK service, there will soon be no AZ value left to bid for.
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Message de aaa - Envoyé le 22 Oct 21:57 |
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Air France-KLM, the world's largest airline by revenue, expects to take a decision on buying Italy's Alitalia or Spain's Iberia shortly, a Dutch newspaper reported its chief executive as saying.
The chairman and CEO of French-Dutch Air France-KLM, Jean-Cyril Spinetta, said in an interview with newspaper NRC Handelsblad that the company would decide on Alitalia on October 25 during a board meeting.
Spinetta confirmed the airline was on a short list of companies interested in Alitalia but he declined comment when asked whether Air France-KLM would make a bid for Alitalia alone or with other airlines.
Air France-KLM would take a decision on Iberia in the coming weeks, Spinetta said.
The airlines chief said KLM might also fly from London's Heathrow Airport, after the company announced that Air France would team up with Delta Air Lines to share routes linking US cities and Europe, starting with Heathrow.
Every European city might be used as a starting point for transatlantic flights, Spinetta said, citing Rome as an example.
A so-called Open Skies pact between the United States and the European Union enabled the deal with Delta Air Lines, and Spinetta acknowledged that other airlines, such as British Airways, could compete at airports important to Air France-KLM, such as Paris and Los Angeles
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Message de aaa - Envoyé le 22 Oct 21:58 |
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A consortium led by Italian lawyer Antonio Baldassarre is in early stage talks with Lufthansa for a possible bid for Alitalia, an Italian source close to the consortium said on Thursday.
Baldassarre's group and Lufthansa were both listed separately as part of an Alitalia shortlist of six potential buyers for the loss-making airline.
But Alitalia has said it would start talks with the consortium, which says it has set aside an initial EUR1.5 billion euros to buy the airline, only after it proves it has sufficient financial muscle to pull off a deal.
Lufthansa did not participate in an auction for Alitalia that collapsed earlier this year when all the bidders pulled out, saying it was not interested under prevailing conditions.
The German airline has since said it is open for potential talks, but that any partnership with the Italian airline must make sense for both sides.
Alitalia's Chairman Maurizio Prato told members of parliament on Thursday that the airline plans to identify its preferred partner within the first 10 days of November, an Italian lawmaker present at the hearing said.
Prato has said he prefers an industrial group that can reorganize the airline rather than an investment fund that may want to cash in its stake after a few years, a union source said after a meeting with him.
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Message de aaa - Envoyé le 23 Oct 22:00 |
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Talks between Air France KLM and Alitalia will start in coming weeks, Air France KLM CEO Jean-Cyril Spinetta said on Wednesday.
We are on the short list issued by Alitalia. Discussions haven't started yet, but they will probably start in coming weeks, Spinetta said.
He added Air France was not interested in opening up routes to the United States from Italy under the Open Skies deal if its merger talks with Alitalia did not lead anywhere. And if it did a deal with Alitalia, the Italian carrier would handle those routes.
He said Air France KLM was also still evaluating whether to get together with Iberia.
Confirming figures reported by analysts after an investor meeting on Monday, Spinetta also said the French airline's transatlantic joint venture with Delta would yield several tens of millions of euros in profits for Air France.
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Message de SJR - Envoyé le 23 Oct 11:04 |
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What sort of monster airline would that create if AF/KL added Iberia and Alitalia. There would be no way BA could compete with that and its only rival would be LH group and maybe some of the American carriers.
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Message de FLX - Envoyé le 24 Oct 10:36 |
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Well, BA can always get more serious about the possibility of swallowing Aer Lingus, SAS, Finnair, Sabena, Spannair, etc. or even revive the old BA+AA merger anti-trust political hot cake before being left behind in this M&A frenzy....
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Message de SJR - Envoyé le 24 Oct 10:50 |
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To catch up BA would need to take-over Aer Lingus and SAS and then consider the possibilities with Brussels Airlines and Finnair. I doubt they will takeover any of these to be fair and actually see them in the future getting taken over themselves.
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Message de aaa - Envoyé le 30 Nov 22:28 |
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Alitalia has postponed by about a week to December 6 a deadline for non-binding offers for Italy's ailing airline.
Its adviser, Citigroup, has a short-list of potential investors including Air France-KLM, Lufthansa and domestic carrier Air One. Russia's Aeroflot pulled out last week.
Contacts and discussions with the subjects involved are still being pursued, it said in a statement after a board meeting on Wednesday. Consequently it is foreseen that any possible proposals should be made by 6 December.
Alitalia also said it would identify the candidates by the deadline.
Last week, it said its board could meet in the first half of December to choose one of them for exclusive talks.
Lufthansa will decide by the end of the year whether to make a bid, its chief executive Wolfgang Mayrhuber said in a newspaper interview on Sunday.
Alitalia has big and barely manageable problems. We are studying whether we can find a recipe (to handle these) and make a bid, he told Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung.
Alitalia has a market capitalization of about EUR1.2 billion euros (USD$1.78 billion) and loses a million euros per day.
Prime Minister Romano Prodi's government had to abandon its own attempts to sell the state's 49.9 percent stake in July when all bidders pulled out.
Both Air France-KLM and Lufthansa snubbed the auction because they did not like the terms
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Message de FLX - Envoyé le 01 Dec 14:22 |
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Holy sh?t! How long has this been going on? I thought this issue has been settled. With this kind of ultra-inefficient decision-making process, how exactly did Italy became one of the industrial leaders in the world?
At this rate, may be the ownership of AZ will finally be certain 5 yrs fm now...when there's nothing left on its balance sheet!
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Message de aaa - Envoyé le 05 Dec 11:35 |
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series of delays in self-imposed deadlines by Alitalia to identify a partner signal a struggle to put a palatable offer forward for the strike-prone flagship carrier -- and the odds of a foreign partner are lengthening.
On the block for nearly a year, the loss-making Italian carrier is in its second push to find a buyer after an auction for the Italian Treasury's 49.9 percent stake collapsed in July.
This time around, the airline, with a market value of EUR1.1 billion euros but debt of about EUR1.2 billion, drew up its own list of six potential suitors after being instructed by Italy's government to find a buyer by the end of the year.
But that list is quickly shrinking, while Alitalia has delayed a deadline for non-binding offers to December 6 after promising a partner would be found in early November.
Its ailing finances -- it loses over a million euros a day -- and strike-prone unions have long dissuaded bidders.
It's a sign that a deal just can't be found, said Giacomo Chiorino, a fund manager at Nuovi Investimenti Sim. It's been more than a year that they've been trying to find a buyer and a deal is almost becoming a non-starter at this point.
Analysts say Alitalia's fate now comes down to four options. A bid by larger rivals Air France or Lufthansa favored by the Italian government for having the muscle to restore their national carrier to health; a more likely alliance with domestic rival Air One or eventually being liquidated if it can't find a partner.
From Alitalia's initial list of suitors, one group was ruled out for lack of evidence of financial strength, while Russian airline Aeroflot -- backed at one time by Italy's biggest bank UniCredit -- and US equity firm TPG both pulled out.
Air France and Lufthansa meanwhile have shown lukewarm interest and say they have yet to decide but the two European airlines may have been dissuaded from bidding by British Airways' decision to pull out of the battle for Spanish airline Iberia, said Oliviero Baccelli at Bocconi University's transport economics research centre.
That has eased pressure on the French and German carriers to pull off a similar deal.
Air France and Lufthansa were waiting for the resolution of Iberia's fate and now that that has been solved, there will be no offer from them, he said.
Both European carriers are still expected, however, to keep abreast of the action and meet the December 6 deadline, along with domestic carrier Air One -- a commercial partner of Lufthansa.
On Tuesday, Lufthansa CFO Stephan Gemkow said the company could not ignore Italy, one of the biggest business travel markets where Alitalia's trump card is its dominance of the lucrative route from financial capital Milan to Rome.
Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi's fragile centre-left government must balance union intolerance of any sweeping job cuts with the need to get rid of the albatross that Alitalia has become now that the European Union has vetoed further state aid.
For Lufthansa and Air France, the best scenario for them would be to see Alitalia fail and then take the pieces but politically that's not possible, said Alessandro Frigerio, a fund manager at RMJ, which sold its Alitalia stock this year.
Alitalia has had to repeatedly row back on promises that a deal is around the corner. Its shares dropped 9 percent in November over fears the sale would be delayed to 2008, despite denials by Italy's government.
In early October, the airline's Chairman Maurizio Prato told lawmakers he was confident of finding a buyer within the first 10 days of November. When that date passed, Italy's transport minister said the choice would be made by November 23.
Alitalia then said non-binding offers were expected by the end of November and it would identify a partner for exclusive talks by mid-December. Last week it delayed the deadline for offers to December 6.
Now, signs are that Air One could end up with Alitalia despite doubts it can pull off a deal for a much larger airline with much bigger problems, analysts say.
All these delays were related to the fact that the Italian government would like to receive an offer from Air France and Lufthansa, said Baccelli. At this point, they cannot postpone the decision anymore or Alitalia will continue to suffer.
Air One could allay fears over its financial strength thanks to the backing it has from Italy's biggest retail bank Intesa Sanpaolo, which has said it could also take a minority stake. Goldman Sachs is also advising the airline.
And analysts do not rule out Air One finding support from Lufthansa and UniCredit, which has said it is still watching the situation after Aeroflot quit.
It could end up being a typical Italian solution with the banks involved, said Chiorino. They did this with Fiat and with Telecom Italia and it's possible that it will happen with Alitalia as well
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Message de lidras - Envoyé le 06 Dec 9:48 |
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Found this on Bloomberg.com this morning
Dec. 6 (Bloomberg) -- Air France-KLM Group, the world's biggest airline, said it will offer to buy Alitalia SpA and revive the unprofitable carrier that the Italian government has been trying to sell for a year.
Deutsche Lufthansa AG of Germany said today it won't bid, leaving Air France to compete with Air One, Alitalia's biggest domestic competitor, for the acquisition. Air France would designate Rome as Alitalia's main hub and retain flights from Milan, the Paris-based company said in a statement today. Alitalia's board will meet tonight to evaluate offers.
Alitalia hasn't reported an operating profit in nine years and is losing more than 1 million euros ($1.5 million) a day. The government gave Chairman Maurizio Prato a mandate to seek a buyer for the state's 49.9 percent stake to cut losses and save Italy's national carrier from bankruptcy. European airlines are looking for mergers as a new ``open skies'' treaty increases competition on U.S. routes.
``Air France is the leading candidate,'' said Karim Bertoni, a fund manager at Banque Syz & Co. in London who helps manage $24.8 billion. ``Air France seems to consider Alitalia a domestic company to help bring passengers to Paris. The purchase will be a risk.'' Bertoni doesn't hold Alitalia stock.
Shares of Alitalia, which plans to choose a partner for exclusive talks by the end of the month, rose as much as 5.7 cents, or 6.8 percent, to 90 cents, giving a market value of 1.23 billion euros. They were trading at 87 cents as of 10:33 a.m. in Milan, cutting declines this year to 17 percent.
Air France advanced 0.5 percent to 23.37 euros. The stock has dropped 27 percent this year for a value of 7 billion euros.
No Premium
``No one is going to pay a premium for Alitalia,'' said Gianmaria Bergantino, head of asset management at Bank Insinger de Beaufort NV in Rome, who owns Alitalia convertible bonds. ``Whoever buys it is buying it for its airport slots.'' He spoke before the announcement was made.
Air France-KLM has sent a non-binding expression of interest, it said today's statement. The company already owns about 2 percent of Alitalia, which was initially slated to join the 2004 merger between the French and Dutch airlines. The Italian carrier was excluded because of mounting losses.
Board Meeting
Alitalia's board of directors will meet tonight in the Italian capital to evaluate bids presented to its adviser, Citigroup Inc. It won't release financial details.
The carrier may not fetch much because it has about 1.2 billion euros in debt and is hobbled by growing competition in Italy, analysts said.
``Our implied equity valuation for Alitalia, calculated on the basis of the future financial forecasts, appears to fall below zero, unless airfares rise materially,'' Deutsche Bank analysts including Chris Reid said Nov. 28.
The decision on the bidders has been delayed repeatedly and the last attempt to sell the stake was canceled in July after seven months. All the potential buyers dropped out, some objecting to state-imposed preconditions, including maintaining the national character of Alitalia and protecting jobs. TPG Inc., the Fort Worth, Texas-based buyout firm, was among the bidders that walked away.
Italian Advantage
Air One, backed by Intesa Sanpaolo SpA, the country's second- largest bank, confirmed yesterday that it will bid and may be favored this time because it's the only Italian suitor, Bergantino said.
``The most viable hypothesis from the government's point of view is for Alitalia to stay in Italian hands,'' he said.
Prime Minister Romano Prodi said yesterday that the government isn't biased against a foreign offer.
``What we want for Alitalia is to have a business plan which will strengthen Alitalia and naturally provide an efficient and healthy airline,'' he said at a press conference in Naples.
Alitalia shares had fallen 20 percent this year before today, twice the decline of the Bloomberg Europe Airlines Index. The carrier on Nov. 13 forecast a loss before interest and tax of more than 200 million euros this year. Its market value has fallen to 1.2 billion euros, about the same as the debt level, and its fleet of jets is in need of upgrading.
Alitalia started flying 60 years ago and as of Sept. 30 had 185 planes, 29 of them dedicated to long-haul routes. Seventy-five planes are old MD-80s used for short- and medium-haul flights. The company serves more than 60 destinations.
A buyer may have to invest in new planes soon because Alitalia's fleet has an average age of 12.1 years, compared with 8.8 years at Air France.
To contact the reporters on this story: Alessandro Torello in Rome at atorello@bloomberg.net ;
Last Updated: December 6, 2007 04:43 EST
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Message de Hello people! - Envoyé le 15 Dec 14:26 |
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Message de aaa - Envoyé le 18 Dec 23:56 |
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Alitalia's suitors Air France-KLM and Air One on Monday detailed plans which could nearly double its capital and promised it new planes, a day before the indebted airline's board meets to pick a partner.
Choice of a partner ultimately rests with the coalition of Prime Minister Romano Prodi, who said there are division over the choice. Deputy Prime Minister Francesco Rutelli said at the weekend neither offer was convincing.
Global giant Air France-KLM's plans include a cash injection of at least EUR750 million euros while Air One, the home challenger, said it would pump in EUR1 billion through a capital increase for the state-controlled airline.
Alitalia, which carries some EIUR.2 billion of debt, has a market value of around EUR970 million -- down from about EUR1.35 billion when the government first put it up for sale a year ago.
Alitalia's main attraction is its dominance of the business route from the financial capital of Milan to Rome. Its attractiveness for Air France-KLM may have increased as rival Lufthansa gets closer to buying Spain's Iberia.
Air France-KLM emerged as a bidder for Alitalia earlier this month after snubbing all earlier attempts by the Italian government to find a buyer for its 49.9 percent stake. Prodi will meet his French counterpart Nicolas Sarkozy on Thursday.
The Franco-Dutch airline said in a statement on Monday it had made a non-binding share exchange offer and that it would buy all Alitalia's convertible bonds.
It gave no details of the share-exchange ratio, the assumed value of Alitalia or timing of the planned offer.
Shares in Air France-KLM were down around 2 percent at EUR23.6, giving it a market capitalization of nearly EUR7.1 billion.
Air France-KLM would immediately inject at least EUR750 million into Alitalia through a capital increase open to all shareholders and fully underwritten by Air France-KLM.
That could allow Rome, which is banned by the European Commission from giving any more money to the loss-making airline, to take a minority stake in the new group.
Air France-KLM confirms its determination to support Alitalia in its recovery and to relaunch it as a strong national flag carrier with world coverage. The enlarged group will then be able to rely on three strong, complementary brands providing customers with an unparalleled network, Air France-KLM said.
It added that there would be no further redundancies over those already planned by Alitalia, which could mean up to 1,700 job losses.
Air France-KLM added it would replace all Alitalia's Boeing MD80 short/medium-haul fleet and the 767 long-haul fleet.
Air One plans to buy 130 Airbus aircraft to renew Alitalia's fleet, its head, Carlo Toto, told Corriere della Sera newspaper on Monday, with a capital increase for EUR1 billion. His offer puts a 0.1 euro value on Alitalia shares.
Toto, whose bid is backed by Italy's largest retail bank and one of its corporate saviors, Intesa Sanpaolo, said he would be willing to cede around 20 percent of the future company's Rome to Milan slots to meet antitrust regulations.
Air One is already a commercial partner of Lufthansa
December 17, 2007
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Message de FLX - Envoyé le 18 Dec 13:08 |
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Message de aaa - Envoyé le 18 Dec 22:51 |
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Alitalia's board will weigh bids by Air One and Air France-KLM for the troubled airline on Tuesday but it may delay choosing a partner as the government appears divided ahead of key talks on Thursday.
Italy's prime minister will meet the French president on Thursday. Transport Minister Alessandro Bianchi said on Tuesday he believed the rival bids for Alitalia needed more in-depth study.
I feel the need to study them better and more in depth, Bianchi told reporters on the sidelines of a conference hours before Alitalia's board was due to meet to discuss the bids.
Bianchi also said he had called a meeting with unions to discuss the Alitalia situation for Wednesday.
Domestic challenger Air One, smaller than state-controlled Alitalia but backed by Italy's No. 1 retail bank Intesa Sanpaolo, has offered 1 euro cent per Alitalia share and total investments of EUR5.3 billion euros by 2012.
Air France-KLM, the world's largest airline by revenues, has bid 35 euro cents per Alitalia share in a share-swap offer and offered to buy all Alitalia's convertible bonds.
But financial details are secondary to a decision which must win over combative unions and national interests that want to keep the loss-making carrier firmly in Italian hands.
Under Air France's plan, Alitalia would disappear, Intesa Sanpaolo Chief Executive Officer Corrado Passera told Italian daily La Repubblica in an interview published on Tuesday.
The alliance with Air One would, on the other hand, generate a new carrier, whose main mission would be to make Italy fly , he added.
Regional interests are also at stake as Air France's plan would keep Rome's Fiumicino Airport as its Italian hub while rival Milan's Malpensa would just provide local connections.
Alitalia's board was expected to meet at 1500 GMT. Alitalia unions would meet beforehand at 1430 GMT and they are threatening massive strikes over the Christmas holiday period should they not like the choice of the partner.
I don't know what the board will do, Alitalia Chairman Maurizio Prato was quoted by Italian media as saying. Decisions are taken on a day-to-day basis.
Italian media say Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi and Economy Minister Tommaso Padoa-Schioppa both favor Air France's offer, while Foreign Minister Massimo D'Alema and Transport Minister Alessandro Bianchi are seen backing an Italian solution .
Shares in Alitalia were zig-zagging on Tuesday, reflecting uncertainty over a possible decision for Alitalia
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