The MSC maritime group is interested in the majority of Italian ITA and manages it – paper

The MSC logo is pictured on a work helmet during a press visit of the MSC Meraviglia-class ship at the STX Chantiers de l’Atlantique shipyard site in Saint-Nazaire, France, September 2, 2016. REUTERS/ Stephane Mahe

ROME, Jan 27 (Reuters) – Shipping company MSC wants to have a majority stake in ITA Airways and be able to run the Italian airline, the Swiss-based group’s chairman said in an interview with daily Corriere della Sera. published. Thursday.

“The main thing is to have the majority of ITA Airways. (Lufthansa) can enter as a business partner or a minority shareholder,” Gianluigi Aponte, founder and chairman of MSC, one of the main shipping companies, told the newspaper. in the world.

He added that MSC would like to manage ITA and would not be a “sponsoring partner”.

Monday MSC and Lufthansa said they were interested in buying the majority of Alitalia’s successor, ITA, and had requested a 90-day exclusivity period to study the deal. Read more

Aponte said MSC would not want to change the management of ITA, which he described as “brilliant”, but would prefer to sit on the board.

In a separate report to daily Il Messaggero, Aponte reportedly said it was “likely” that ITA could be worth up to 1.5 billion euros ($1.68 billion) and that the group would verify the value as soon as possible. that he would have access to documents.

State-owned ITA, which replaced cash-strapped Alitalia and began flying in October, is looking for financial partners.

MSC, which has both cargo and passenger divisions, with the brands MSC Cruises, SNAV and Grandi Navi Veloci, aims to create synergies with ITA in cargo and cruise businesses.

If the Italian government gives the green light, ITA management will review the details of the expression of interest and decide whether or not to enter into exclusive talks with the two partners.

($1 = 0.8913 euros)

Reporting by Giulia Segreti; edited by Agnieszka Flak

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