Lufthansa Group acquires 41% of ITA Airways

On 25 May 2023, the Lufthansa Group announced it had reached an agreement with the Italian government to acquire 41% of the shares in ITA Airways. The Group is paying 325 million euros for the stake and also secured the option to take-over the remaining shares at a later date and price. As part of the deal, the Italian Ministry of Economy & Finance will also boost ITA Airways' capital with another 250 million euros. The deal is expected to be closed in the coming weeks.

Once the deal is closed, ITA Airways and the Lufthansa Group will immediately start cooperating on a commercial and operational level, similar like Lufthansa Group is currently operating its other airlines Austrian Airlines, Brussels Airlines, Eurowings, Lufthansa (incl. subsidiaries like Air Dolomiti and CityLine), and Swiss. The close cooperation will also mean, most likely, that ITA Airways is set to leave SkyTeam and join Star Alliance in the future.

According to Lufthansa Group's press-release ITA Airways and its hubs at Milan and Rome are "a perfect fit" and "today's agreement will lead to a win-win situation for IItaly, TA Airways and Lufthansa Group. And it is good news for Italian consumers and for Europe, because a stronger ITA will invigorate competition in the Italian market".

The plan to acquire (part) of ITA Airways was announced in January 2023, when the Group submitted an official bid to the Italian government.

Photo by Airbus.