The negotiations for the privatization of the national air carrier ITA Airways are officially underway. The Ministry of Economy and Finance (MEF), 100% shareholder of the Italian airline, recently signed Lufthansa's letter of intent, presented on January 18 by the German aviation group. The document contains the desire of the Cologne-based company to acquire a minority stake in the Italian airline's capital.

With the signing of the Memorandum Of Understanding, the negotiations on an exclusive basis begin. According to rumors circulating in recent months, the Germans should offer around 200-300 million euros to acquire a minority stake of 35-40% (to then rise to 100% within a few years), with ITA Airways which would have been evaluated around 500 million euros.

The talks between the Italian Government and Lufthansa will mainly focus on the forms and modalities of the possible equity investment, on the commercial and operational integration of ITA in the German Group, on the resulting synergies. At the moment there is maximum confidentiality on the part of the Executive on the details of the negotiation, which could be concluded by March. Sources cited by the "Agi" news agency speculate that the negotiation would not be subject to binding terms.