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ROME - An Italian court will decide on February 20 whether to annul Air France-KLM's right to exclusive talks to buy Alitalia, judicial sources said, putting any potential deal or new offer for the airline on hold until then.
An administrative court in Lazio province reviewing a lawsuit filed last month by Alitalia's domestic rival Air One asked groups cited in the suit to hold off on any actions until the February 20 hearing. That would imply that Air France-KLM, which began exclusive talks to buy Alitalia last month, cannot conclude a sale before that date and Air One, which wants to make a fresh bid for the airline, cannot present the new offer until then.
Air One's previous offer was rejected by the outgoing Italian government in favour of the one made by Air France-KLM.
With Italians set to go back to the polls in mid-April after the collapse of Prime Minister Romano Prodi's government last month, doubts have risen about whether the sale to Air France-KLM will go through.
Prodi's government announced Alitalia's sale in December 2006 by putting up for sale the state's 49.9 per cent stake in the carrier. Prodi's Infrastructure Minister Antonio Di Pietro on Tuesday said it would be inappropriate for a fallen government to approve a deal on Alitalia.
"Even if correct from a formal point of view, I believe it would be inappropriate that an operation of such importance would be pushed through by a government that is expiring, or in fact, expired," Di Pietro said.
Alitalia is losing more than €1 million ($1.9 million) a day and executives warn it will need a cash injection of at least €750 million to keep flying solo should it not be bought by the middle of this year.
The prospect of another bid pushed Alitalia shares up nearly 3 per cent to their highest since January 21 in morning trade on Tuesday before closing down 2 per cent amid a broader market slide.
- REUTERS
