Lufthansa, the largest airline group in Europe, announced on Tuesday that it will increase its current minority stake in Italy’s ITA Airways to 90%. According to the Lufthansa Group, Lufthansa “will exercise its option to acquire a majority stake in ITA Airways in June of this year” at “a previously agreed purchase price of €325 million.
It further stated that regulatory permits in the US and the EU are still pending for the agreement, which was authorized by the company’s board on Monday. Lufthansa has reserved the option to progressively increase its ownership of ITA Airways after obtaining a 41% minority stake in the airline in January 2025. The Italian government, which formerly owned 59% of the airline, is the seller. It will now keep 10% of the company.
According to analysts, the move gives Lufthansa better access to the Italian market and long-haul growth potential via Rome, while also hastening the consolidation of the European airline industry.According to the business, “ITA Airways will be fully integrated into the Lufthansa Group, both organisationally and financially” as a result of the expanded ownership.
With “the exception of North Atlantic flights,” where “regulatory approval for our merger is still pending,” all customer-facing interfaces are already merged, according to Lufthansa CEO Carsten Spohr.
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