Lufthansa Rules Out Entering the Alitalia Bidding Game

Lufthansa will not enter the bidding contest for Italian carrier Alitalia, the German airline’s Chief Executive Wolfgang Mayrhuber said. There were a number of reasons why the German airline would remain “very cautious” in its acquisition strategy, despite Italy’s decision to give potential suitors more time to bid, he said.

“Alitalia is a good brand,” he said, and reiterated that the price was too high. He also cited the strong influence of labor on the ailing Italian airline. “The unions are not in a position to give answers that would give investors confidence,” he said.

Italy has given bidders for Alitalia more time to submit binding offers after one candidate said it was open to considering new partners and U.S. private equity fund Matlin Patterson reentered the fray.

That came as the deputy chief executive of one of the final bidders, Aeroflot told Russian news agency Interfax his airline considered teaming up with fellow bidder Air One but decided the move would be “inexpedient”.

Aeroflot, which is backed by Intesa Sanpaolo’s biggest domestic rival UniCredit, has denied reports it might withdraw. But it has said the appearance of the new candidate could have an impact on its plans.