Deutsche Lufthansa AG, today, submitted an offer to the Italian Ministry of Economy and Finance (Ministero dell’economia e delle finanze) to conclude a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to acquire a stake in the Italian national airline ITA Airways (Italia Trasporto Aereo S.p.A.).

Lufthansa’s plan calls to agree on the initial acquisition of a minority stake in the Italian flag carrier at this time. It also states the company’s intent to negotiate options of purchasing the remaining ITA shares at a later date.

According to Lufthansa, contingent on both parties signing this MoU, further negotiations and discussions would be conducted on an exclusive basis.

These talks would primarily focus on the form of a possible equity investment, the commercial and operational integration of ITA into the Lufthansa Airline Group, as well as resulting synergies. In case of a binding agreement is reached, its implementation would be subject to approval by the relevant authorities.

For Lufthansa Group, Italy is the most important market outside of its home markets and the US. Italy’s importance for both business and private travel lies in its strong export-oriented economy and status as one of Europe’s top vacation spots.

Italia Trasporto Aereo S.p.A., trading as ITA Airways, is the state-owned flag carrier airline of Italy. It is fully owned by the Government of Italy via the Ministry of Economy and Finance. The airline flies to over 60 scheduled domestic, European, and intercontinental destinations.

ITA Airways is a member of the SkyTeam global airline alliance with its hub in Rome-Fiumicino and Milan-Linate as its focus city.

Deutsche Lufthansa AG, commonly shortened to Lufthansa, is the flag carrier of Germany. When combined with its subsidiaries, it is the second-largest airline in Europe in terms of passengers carried. Lufthansa is one of the five founding members of Star Alliance, the world’s largest airline alliance, formed in 1997. (source: eTurboNews)