German carrier Lufthansa's entry into
ITA Airways is "part of an inevitable consolidation process" and
"anyone could manage ITA better than Italian governments",
Ryanair CEI Michael O'Leary said on Wednesday.
Italian governments have "for years proven to be extraordinarily
incompetent," the Irish businessman told reporters in Brussels.
Last Friday Lufthansa CEO Carsten Spohr announced an agreement
with the Italian economy ministry to buy a 41% stake in ITA
Airways worth 325 million euros.
The acquisition will take the form of a capital increase into
the company which replaced loss-making former flag-carrier
Alitalia in 2021, with the State taking full ownership.
Spohr said the transaction would be completed by the end of this
year.
"The future CEO of ITA Airways and one member of the board (out
of five in total) will be nominated by Lufthansa," he told
conference call with analysts.
Spohr added that ITA had "no relations or problems linked to the
old Alitalia" as it has been "completely restructured and
configured to be a competitive airline from a cost point of
view".
Lufthansa also said Thursday that it will have an option to buy
all
the rest of ITA's shares at a later date and that the Italian
government has committed to a capital increase of 250 million
euros into ITA as part of the
agreement.
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