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UPDATE: Berlusconi Also Sees Alitalia, Air France-KLM Tie-up |
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| Wednesday April 16th, 2008 / 16h46 |
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(Adds further comment from Berlusconi) ROME (MF-Dow Jones)--Incoming Italian premier Silvio Berlusconi said Wednesday he could see ailing flag carrier Alitalia SpA (AZA.MI) as "part of a large group" with Air France-KLM (AFLYY).
Prior to winning national elections held April 13 and 14, Berlusconi had repeatedly said he found Air France-KLM's offer for the Italian airline unacceptable.
Berlusconi, speaking during a press conference in Rome, said Alitalia could be part of a large international three-way group (referring to Air France-KLM) as long as it had "equal weight" with its partners.
Berlusconi said that in this way, Alitalia will remain the country's flag carrier.
Berlusconi also said that later Wednesday he will meet with close advisers Bruno Ermolli and Gianni Letta to evaluate the Alitalia situation.
Ermolli is a longtime consultant who Berlusconi asked to find Italian investors to study an offer for Alitalia. Letta is another close adviser and served as undersecretary in the last Berlusconi government.
The premier elect also said that Alitalia is "not on the agenda" of his meeting Thursday in Sardinia with outgoing Russian President Vladimir Putin. However, Berlusconi did not exclude the possibility of the topic being broached.
Russian airline Aeroflot (AFLT.RS) had been interested in acquiring Alitalia last year.
-By Guglielmo Valia, MF-Dow Jones, and Gordon Sorlini, Dow Jones Newswires; +39 02 5821-9908; gordon.sorlini@dowjones.com
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| Wednesday April 16th, 2008 / 16h46 |
Source : Dowjones Business News |
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