Lufthansa CEO to be in Rome Thursday for ITA talks

(ANSA) - ROME, MAR 29 - Lufthansa CEO Carsten Spohr said Wednesday that he will be on Rome on Thursday for talks with the Italian government as part of the negotiations for the German carrier's acquisition of a minority stake in ITA Airways.
    Speaking at the Brussels A4E Aviation summit, he said the last issue to address was the "valuation of ITA," adding that "all the other obstacles on the industrial level seem to have been resolved".
    Lufthansa is set to buy 40% of ITA Airways from the Italian Treasury for between 250 and 300 million euros, sources said last month.
    Lufthansa is set to come in on an operation level by the summer, the sources said.
    They added that the Italian government wants "Lufthansa to take operative control as soon as possible so that ITA can benefit from the synergies of the group as soon as possible" ITA replaced loss-making former flag-carrier Alitalia in 2021, with the State taking full ownership.
    ITA CEO Fabio Lazzerini, meanwhile, said Wednesday that the airline's bookings for next month were up by 180% in year-on-year terms. (ANSA).