Roundup: Special step nears for Italy's flagship airline after rescue deal rejected

Proceedings to put Italy's flagship airline Alitalia under special administration regime were launched after an ultimate rescue plan was rejected by workers, local media reported on Wednesday.

Alitalia Chairman Luca Cordero di Montezemolo officially informed Italian National Civil Aviation Authority (ENAC) of the board's decision to "initiate the procedure to appoint a commissioner," ENAC said in a statement.

The extraordinary administration regime might lead to a possible takeover of the company, a partial sell-off, or to liquidation.

Alitalia's crisis deepened after a pre-deal brokered by Alitalia and unions to save the cash-strapped company was rejected by 67 percent of the workers in an internal referendum on Monday.

Some 90 percent of the 12,500 employees took part in the voting, according to unions. The deal would have laid off some 980 employees instead of 1,338 firstly proposed by the company, and cut wages of flight crews by 8 percent.

In view of such cuts, it would have unlocked 2 billion euros (2.18 billion U.S. dollars) of capital increase, including more than 900 million of fresh resources, according to Alitalia.

Both Alitalia's board and the Italian government expressed surprise at the results. "Regret and upset at the outcome of Alitalia referendum, which puts the company's recapitalization plan at risk," a joint statement by Italy's ministers of Economic Development, Infrastructures and Transports, and Labor read, soon after the referendum's results were clear.

"At this stage, waiting to know the decisions of Alitalia's current shareholders, the goal of the government is to minimize costs for Italian citizens and for passengers," the ministers added.

On Tuesday, Alitalia's board of directors met to take note "with regret of the decision of the workforce to not approve the pre-agreement."

"Given the impossibility to proceed with the recapitalisation, the board has decided to start preparing the procedures provided by the law," it said.

Shareholders have to deliberate on the implementation of the proceedings, and a meeting was scheduled for April 27, with a second call on May 2.

The government has already ruled out the possibility of a nationalization of the air carrier, and Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni restated the position in a short remark on Wednesday.

"I felt disappointed for the opportunity that was provided by the agreement, and was not sized," La Repubblica newspaper cited Gentiloni as saying. "I restate now what I have already said: there are no conditions for a nationalization."

In an interview before the referendum among employees, Minister of Economic Development Carlo Calenda had warned the rescue plan was "the very last call for Alitalia."

The government will be allowed to provide public guarantees worth about 300 million euros to avoid letting the fleet on the ground, according to Transport Minister Graziano Delrio.

Alitalia's fleet consists of 121 aircraft, and it carried 22.6 million passengers in 2016, according to the company.

The airline reported its last profits in 2009, and it has been losing some 500 million euros in 2016, Italy's leading business daily Il Sole 24 Ore recently estimated.

Alitalia is partially owned by Etihad Airways -- the United Arab Emirates' national airline -- through a 49-percent stake acquired in 2014 to save the Italian company from bankruptcy. (1 euro=1.09 U.S. dollars) Enditem