Air France-KLM not to bid for Alitalia: report
Posted: 22 January 2007 0523 hrs
PARIS - Air France-KLM has decided not to make an offer to buy Italy's cash-strapped Alitalia because of the high asking price and conditions set by the Italian government, French daily La Tribune reported.
"The decision was taken on Wednesday by the board the day that Jean-Cyril Spinetta, France-KLM chairman, announced his resignation from the board of Alitalia," the paper said in an article to appear Monday, without saying where it got its information.
"The terms and conditions set by Rome is judged by France-KLM to be unreasonable due notably to the impossibility of restructuring Alitalia's network and the extremely high price. It would have to pay nearly 1.5 billion euros (excluding debt)," the business daily said.
The Franco-Dutch carrier may revise its position if there are no other offers or if "events contrary to its interests occur this week" such as an offer from a competitor such as Germany's Lufthansa or Italy's Air One, La Tribune said.
The Italian government, which holds a 49.9 percent stake in the company, in late December issued an appeal for bids for the purchase and privatization of Alitalia.
While Air France-KLM is widely regarded as a potential partner for Alitalia it has always insisted that any tie-up would be conditional on a restructuring at the Italian carrier.
Allora riassunto. AF dice che non e' interessata perche' il prezzo e' troppo alto e i requisiti sono troppi. Pero' potrebbero cambiare idea se nessun altro si presenta o se Lufthansa o Air One fa una offerta.
In poche parole sembra che se non si presenta nessuno loro sono pronti a farsela dare a poco. Se invece si presenta Lufthansa si inventeranno qualcosa...
