European aviation giant Lufthansa has completed its €325 million deal to acquire a minority stake in Italy's ITA Airways.
The closure of the deal on Wednesday will see Lufthansa take an initial 41 percent stake in the Italian carrier and follows years of negotiation.
This deal was originally announced in May 2023 and was approved by the European Commission following a competition investigation in July 2024. This process saw Lufthansa and the Italian Ministry of Economy and Finance make a series of concessions to release slots at Italian airports to other airlines.
Work now begins to integrate ITA into the larger Lufthansa Group, which, alongside Lufthansa German Airlines, includes Eurowings, Swiss, Austrian Airlines, Brussels Airlines and Air Dolomiti.
The carrier's new governance structure will see Lufthansa Group head of strategy and former CEO of Air Dolomiti, Jörg Eberhart take the helm as ITA's CEO, while Sandro Pappalardo, a former military aviation pilot and advisor to Italy's national tourism agency, ENIT, will replace Antonino Turicchi as chairman. Antonella Ballone, Efrem Angelo Valeriani and Lorenza Maggio complete the five-member board of directors, the carrier confirmed following a shareholders' meeting on Wednesday.
Commenting on his appointment, Eberhart said: "After more than two years of hard work, this new phase in the company's history will allow us to strengthen our position and develop strategic synergies that will enhance the growth and solidity of ITA Airways as a leading Italian carrier, ready to ensure greater connectivity for the country and a wider choice of destinations for passengers, with a renewed vision of development, innovation, and sustainability."
Lufthansa Group CEO Carsten Spohr earlier this week told German newspaper FAZ that he expects the deal to increase the group's profits by hundreds of millions of euros in the coming years.
"Without the prospect of a contribution to earnings in the three-digit million range, we would not have taken this step," he said. Spohr also confirmed that a 100 percent takeover of ITA is the "clear goal," but increasing its current stake will not happen in 2025
Originally published by BTN Europe.