The Italian government is preparing to infuse state-owned ITA Airways with an additional $405 million, according to Bloomberg, which cited anonymous sources familiar with the matter.
The move would come following the election of prime minister Giorgia Meloni in September and as Italy continues to seek a buyer for the Alitalia successor.
In early September, Italy's finance ministry entered into exclusive talks for the sale of ITA with a consortium comprising of Delta, Air France-KLM and the investment fund Certares. However, no agreement has been reached, and the exclusivity period has ended. Lutfhansa Group, which had earlier submitted a bid for ITA in partnership with MSC Group, has told various media organizations that it remains interested in the carrier.
ITA took to the skies in October 2021 with the aid of 700 million euro in state funds. The carrier currently flies five U.S. routes, including four from Rome and one from Milan.