EU Extends Decision Deadline on Lufthansa's ITA Deal
By Andrea Figueras
The European Union has extended the deadline for its decision regarding Deutsche Lufthansa's acquisition of a minority stake in ITA Airways by a week
The decision deadline has been extended to June 13 and the new deadline for submitting commitments is May 6, a spokesperson for the European Commission said Monday.
Last year, the German carrier group reached an agreement with the Italy's Ministry of Economy and Finance to acquire a 41% stake in ITA Airways.
Lufthansa said it would inject 325 million euros ($347.5 million) into the Italian national carrier to buy the stake, while the Italian government committed to a capital increase of EUR250 million.
The companies didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.
In January this year, Lufthansa submitted commitments to address some of the commission's concerns regarding the transaction, which were considered insufficient. The commission then opened an in-depth investigation into the deal with an original decision deadline of June 6.
Last month, the EU's executive arm sent Lufthansa and the Italian ministry a statement of objections.
The commission said that the deal could hinder competition on certain routes for passenger air transport services in and out of Italy. After the transaction, customers might face increased prices or decreased quality of services, it said.
The transaction could also strengthen ITA's dominant position at the Milan Linate airport, which could make it harder for peers to provide passenger air transport services from and to Milan Linate, the commission said.
Write to Andrea Figueras at andrea.figueras@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
April 29, 2024 12:59 ET (16:59 GMT)
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