DOW JONES NEWSWIRES SINGAPORE (Dow Jones)--
Air France-KLM (AKH) is ready to inject EUR3 billion into Alitalia SpA (AZA.MI) over six years, an executive said Monday, adding that the Franco-Dutch group wants to buy 100% of the troubled Italian carrier.
"If we get a deal with the Italian government, then we will make a general offer for Alitalia. And if it works out, we will delist it," Leo M. van Wijk, vice-chairman of Air France-KLM, told Dow Jones Newswires.
"(Alitalia) needs new capital and it needs to be refleeted. If there is an agreement, it would need many billions of euros, about EUR3 billion, in a period of five to six years." Asked whether the company is ready to offer such funding, the official said "yes." Van Wijk - echoing a previous statement by the company's chief executive - said also that the group is interested in buying a stake in the entity formed by a merger between Delta Air Lines Inc. (DAL) and Northwest Airlines Corp. (NWA). He added, however, that Air France-KLM is still considering how much money it would inject into the merged company, if a deal between the two U.S. carriers goes through. Press reports have said the investment could be around $1 billion. Air France and KLM, which themselves merged in 2004, already have close commercial relations with Delta and Northwest.
Van Wijk said the Alitalia buy depends on the new Italian government and on whether it will support the Italian carrier''s plan to cut daily flights from Milan's Malpensa airport. The collapse last month of Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi's government, which backed a takeover by Air France-KLM, has raised questions over whether the acquisition can go through. Italy''s national election is scheduled for April. The Malpensa plan hasbeen criticized by Milan's regional and city politicians.
"If the Malpensa hub is not significantly downsized, we don't see a reason for a deal," Van Wijk said.
He said also that "there are no talks about a financial deal between Air France and China Southern Airlines Co (ZNH)."
(END) Dow Jones Newswires 18-02-08 0339GMT Copyright (c) 2008 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.