Air One Says New Investors Welcome in Alitalia Bid

Air One said its renewed bid for Alitalia was open to domestic and foreign investors, as the small Italian airline continued efforts to drum up support for its plans to buy the country’s flagship airline.

Air One has filed a lawsuit seeking an annulment of the decision allowing exclusive talks between Alitalia and Air France-KLM and is preparing a new bid after its previous offer was rejected by Italy’s outgoing government.

“The project is open to various parties: national and international,” Air One chief Carlo Toto told an event on Thursday on the future of Malpensa Airport, which stands to lose a large number of flights as Alitalia restructures.

Air One has the backing of Italian bank Intesa Sanpaolo, which on Thursday said it would wait for the court’s decision before making its next move.

The administrative court in Lazio’s province has set February 20 for a decision on the lawsuit and asked all parties involved to hold off on any actions that could change the state of play in the battle for control of Alitalia.