EU approves Lufthansa-ITA deal

The EU Commission has given conditional approval to Lufthansa’s proposal to acquire part of the shares of ITA.

The statement reminded that Lufthansa and ITA operate a wide network of routes from hubs in Austria, Belgium, Germany, Switzerland and Italy and that these operations are significantly complementary, with Lufthansa having joint ventures with United Airlines and Air Canada for transatlantic routes and All Nippon Airways for routes to Japan.

It was reminded in the statement that Lufthansa and the Italian Ministry of Economy and Finance have made commitments to increase competition for short and long-haul routes and Milan Linate Airport in order to address the Commission’s competition concerns, “These commitments fully address the competition concerns identified by the Commission.”

In the statement, it was concluded that the transaction did not raise competition concerns at this stage.

ITA was established in 2021 following the closure of the 75-year-old Alitalia airline. Last year, Lufthansa announced plans to buy a 41 percent stake in ITA, which is fully controlled by the Italian Ministry of Economy, for 325 million euros. The EU Commission launched a competition investigation in January to assess the ITA-Lufthansa deal.

It is among the powers of the EU Commission to supervise mergers and acquisitions in large-scale companies operating in European countries.

In its examinations and investigations, the EU Commission evaluates whether there is an anti-competitive situation. If anti-competitive situations are detected, the EU Commission can prevent mergers or acquisitions.