Lufthansa Group has declined to comment on reports that CEO Carsten Spohr and Giancarlo Giorgetti, Italy's minister of economy and finance, are to meet at the weekend to resolve an alleged last-minute impasse over the acquisition of state-owned ITA Airways (AZ, Rome Fiumicino).
A person familiar with the matter told Reuters on November 5 that the Italian ministry allegedly put the deal on hold because Lufthansa (LH, Frankfurt International) parent wanted to pay less than agreed. However, the same day, a Lufthansa Group spokesman informed ch-aviation that the airline is sticking to the agreed contract for the merger with ITA and had met a European Commission November 4 deadline for signing a remedy package necessary for the final approval of its 2023 agreement.
"Lufthansa Group is adhering to the 2023 agreement with the Italian Ministry of Economy and Finance (MEF) to acquire an initial 41% stake in ITA Airways. The company has signed the necessary remedy package by the agreed deadline," the spokesman said. The group has declined to comment further.
Reuters reported that Giorgetti said on November 7 that "it would be good to have a meeting" with Spohr.
Earlier in the week, Italy's Corriere della Sera newspaper reported that the deal between Lufthansa and the MEF was at risk of collapsing over a clause related to the payment Lufthansa is to make following ITA Airways' first capital increase. Sources suggested that Lufthansa may seek to reduce the second tranche payment of EUR603 million euros (USD650 million), citing a decline in ITA's value. The alleged impasse surfaced just before the final remedy documents were due for submission to the European Commission by November 4.
