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Italy expecting offers for Alitalia

Xinhua, May 18, 2017 Adjust font size:

Italy's Transportation Minister Graziano Delrio said Thursday the government expects several offers will be made for troubled carrier Alitalia, which was placed under state control earlier this month.

The company's three government-appointed official receivers on Wednesday posted a call for expressions of interest from prospective buyers on the Alitalia corporate website. Bids can be made beginning on June 5.

Investors can offer to buy the whole company, restructure it, or purchase bits and pieces of it. The latter option would lead to the flaghship airline founded in 1947 to be dismembered.

"We expect non-binding offers to be made by this summer," Italian news agency Ansa quoted Delrio as saying.

However, Industry Minister Carlo Calenda cautioned that there's no point in talking about offers before any have been made.

"Alitalia is and has been a very painful saga, especially for Italian taxpayers, who between one thing and another, have put almost 8 billion euros into it over the years," Calenda told Corriere TV in an interview Thursday.

"It will be a very long and complex process -- let's see what materializes from June 5 onwards."

The Italian government appointed Luigi Gubitosi, Stefano Paleari and Enrico Laghi as official receivers after a court declared Alitalia insolvent on May 11.

It also extended the airline a 600-million-euro bridge loan to keep Alitalia flying for six months, by which time it must find a buyer.

In April, over 60 percent of Alitalia employees voted against the former management's turnaround plan, prompting government to warn it would not step in to nationalize the chronically loss-making carrier.

Alitalia has an operating fleet of 122 planes and employs just over 12,000 people worldwide, including flight, ground crews and administrative staff.

The Italian carrier flies to 26 domestic and 68 international destinations, with 4,200 weekly flights and 144 routes, according to its website.

It was rescued in 2015 by United Arab Emirates carrier Etihad, which bought a stake of 49 percent. Italian shareholders led by UniCredit and Intesa Sanpaolo banks hold the remaining 51 percent. Enditem