The Italian government will sell about half of its controlling stake in flag carrier Alitalia as part of its efforts to open it up to new owners to help rescue the ailing airline, the cabinet said today.
The government has a 49.9 per cent stake and would put up for sale about 25 per cent, officials said.
"This will allow Alitalia to search for fresh capital and hopefully relaunch itself. I think it may be the only solution possible," said an analyst who asked not to be named. "Something has to be done, and done quickly." The office of centre-left Prime Minister Romano Prodi said in a statement the cabinet decided today "to proceed with the sale of a controlling quota of Alitalia".
Shortly after the news, a Lufthansa spokeswoman said the German airline currently had no plans for any stake purchases, though this did not refer exclusively to Alitalia.
Speculation regarding Alitalia's future has centred recently on talk of a tie up with Air France KLM, which said last week it was in exploratory, but not formal, talks with the Italian airline about a possible merger. Air France KLM said shortly after Alitalia shares were suspended today, before the government announcement, that it had no plans to make a statement on the airline.
The shares gained the daily maximum of 10 per cent when trade was renewed and were again suspended.