Etihad Airways has confirmed that it will buy a major stake in the struggling Italian flag carrier.
With negotiations thought to have been ongoing since last December, talks had been prolonged by Alitalia’s reluctance to include a large amount of redundancies as one of the deals conditions.
The purchase would offer relief for Alitalia, who faces an uncertain future after amassing debts rumoured to total €800m, and provide Etihad with increased access to the lucrative European travel market.
The Rome-based airline had previously secured a €300m cash boost from shareholders and a further €200m in bank credit in an effort to avoid bankruptcy.
Though no official figures have been released, it’s likely that this would become Etihad’s largest investment in a foreign airline to date, with smaller shareholdings already held in Aer Lingus and Air Berlin, among others.
A join statement from Alitalia and Etihad said: “The airlines will now move to finalise the transactional documents, that will include the agreed upon conditions, as soon as possible.
“The conclusion of the investment is subject to final regulatory approvals.”
