Hot hours for the negotiation between the Mef and Lufthansa for the sale of 40% of Ita: the signing of the agreement for the start of the privatization of the national airline, as we learn, could arrive as early as tomorrow. Since this morning there have been rumors that the agreement has already been signed, but sources of the Mef and Ita deny this circumstance, without commenting on any other developments.
The agreement between the largest European airline and the Treasury - which owns 100% of the carrier born from the ashes of Alitalia - should be around 300 million euros. The price was among the key nodes of the negotiation and could be the reference basis for the subsequent purchase in the coming years, by the Germans, of the rest of the share package in order to complete the privatization of the company.

The possible sale of Ita in recent days had also been addressed in the bilateral at the G7 in Hiroshima between Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz. Lufthansa's portfolio already includes Austrian, Swiss, Brussels Airlines and Eurowings.
The purchase of ITA would allow the German carrier to expand its range of action in one of the most receptive continental markets on the tourism front, Italy, and to expand routes to Southern Europe. After Ita, moreover, Lufthansa could also look at TAP Portugal, looking for buyers after the years of the Covid pandemic have tried the accounts of the Portuguese carrier.
If the agreement for the start of the privatization of Ita arrives, the next step would be to send the papers to the EU Antitrust, which could take a few months to formulate its assessments, with the possible transaction that would realistically take place during the autumn.