It should work on the second attempt: According to FAZ information, Deutsche Lufthansa will present its offer for entry into the Italian airline ITA on Wednesday.

In the first attempt, the government in Rome had given preference to the American financial investor Certares.

However, in-depth talks ended in vain.

Lufthansa is now preparing to get a cheaper stake in the Italian airline.

Christian Schubert

Economic correspondent for Italy and Greece.

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Timo Kotowski

Editor in Business.

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Although the specific offer is not yet known, Lufthansa is said to be offering a sum in the region of 300 million euros for a share of around 40 percent.

In any case, it should initially remain a minority stake.

Last year, a valuation of more than one billion euros was called for ITA.

According to industry circles, Lufthansa - still in a bidding duo with the shipping company MSC - offered around 850 million euros for an 80 percent stake.

Lufthansa makes the second attempt without MSC.

Advantage for Lufthansa

Lufthansa did not see the elimination at the first attempt as a defeat, especially since the Italian government wanted to maintain a lot of influence on ITA.

The calculation of the Germans that the final decision had not been made at that time worked out.

Shortly before Christmas, the Italian government under Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni published a decree, according to which the bidder companies must come from the aviation industry.

That was now a hurdle for Certares.

The investor had Air France-KLM and Delta Airlines behind it, but not as equity investors.

The Franco-Dutch airline is also not allowed to take on this role because the Corona aid has not yet been repaid, and Certares turned out to be a less than serious candidate.

Details of the Lufthansa offer should be interesting.

It was recently an open question whether the group would require an exit clause in the event that ITA did not develop as hoped.

Lufthansa is aiming to acquire a minority first, a complete takeover may follow later.

The group had already done so with other subsidiaries.

Italy is an important foreign market

For Lufthansa, Italy is already the largest European foreign market.

The group directs long-distance travelers from northern Italy in particular via its hubs such as Frankfurt or Zurich.

After the ITA entry, Rome could become another hub.

CEO Carsten Spohr has already indicated that the group wants to grow with intercontinental routes to the southern hemisphere.

Rome could be a springboard for that.

In the current route network, destinations in the northern hemisphere dominate, and in the direction of Asia, the competition from the airlines is a challenge.

The entry into Italy is, however, also.

ITA Airways increased its market share in its home market to 22 percent by September 2022, but the market leader Ryanair got almost twice as much.

The Irish airline has launched an offensive with new routes and machines.

It flies in Italy with 95 aircraft.

Lufthansa may be targeting a slightly different clientele with ITA, but the low-cost airlines are particularly attractive in times of economic crisis.