Alitalia is weighing taking a stake
in Air Malta, a statement from the Italian flag-carrier said
Wednesday. Alitalia has signed a memorandum of understanding
with Air Malta's board and the Maltese government to start an
extensive due diligence with a view to taking a 49% stake in the
Maltese airline. Once the due diligence is completed the
Alitalia and Air Malta boards will decide whether to sign a
binding agreement. It is not currently known how long the
process of due diligence will take. Alitalia CEO Cramer Ball
said "we want to firmly point out that a possible deal with Air
Malta will not jeopardise the progress of our three-year
relaunch plan or our financial position. Pending fresh
announcements, we will continue with our work." He said "we are
on the right path to return to profit by the end of 2017 and we
must therefore look ahead to start planning he future. For this
reason we have decided to analyse, in an in-depth way, if Air
Malta can contribute to our strategic growth and, in particular,
if and how the networks of the two companies can complete each
other in certain markets such as, for example, southern Italy".
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