on: February 14, 2007, 11:12:53 am
Five bidders shortlisted for Alitalia
Italy has shortlisted just 5 of the 11 groups that expressed interest in bidding for ailing airline Alitalia, allowing them to move to the next phase of the auction process with nonbinding offers expected in April.
Although there is only one airline on the list - domestic rival Air One - the bidders include private equity firm Texas Pacific Group, which bought Continental Airlines in 1993 and was part of a group that has agreed to buy Qantas.
The next step will be for the qualified bidders to present nonbinding offers - something the Treasury said should happen by the first half of April. Binding offers would follow.
The Italian government is selling a minimum 30.1 per cent stake in the carrier, in which Rome has a 49.9 per cent holding. Anyone buying this minimum would have to launch a full bid for the airline under Italian laws.
Europe's fifth-largest airline, which is losing over €1 million a day as strikes and high fuel costs weigh, has not posted an operating profit since 1998, despite several restructuring efforts.
The five shortlisted bidders should now get full access to the company's financial records. Last week, Rome sacked Chairman Giancarlo Cimoli after he failed in promises to return Italy's flag carrier to profit and replaced him with a lawyer who is expected to shepherd the airline through its privatisation.
Carlo Toto - the head of Air One, which is represented by vehicle AP Holding - said he was "satisfied" and that his airline's experience "can be a strategic asset for Alitalia's recovery and relaunch."
UniCredit, which is on the shortlist through its investment banking arm, has already said it is working for a client but has not divulged names.
Alitalia did not say what selection process it used to narrow the list from the 11 it announced in January. It has said bidders must have at least €100 million in assets.
That knocked out Fabio Scaccia, a high school aviation teacher who said he earned 1,200 euros a month and bid as a "citizen's protest."
© 2007 ireland.com
Source: www.ireland.com - Breaking News
http://www.ireland.com/newspaper/breaking/2007/0214/breaking24.htm
Accessed: 14/02/07
Stephen Murphy
Airline Mogul Chief Developer
