Poste Italiane sets conditions for more Alitalia investments

Company wants to examine impact of Etihad deal first

(ANSA) - Rome, July 1 - Further investment by Poste Italiane in the struggling national flagcarrier Alitalia is conditional upon "careful examination of the economic and financial returns associated with the industrial plan and company structure" resulting from an expected 560-million-euro investment deal with Abu Dhabi-based airline Etihad, Poste Italiane said in a statement Tuesday.

The alliance between Alitalia and Etihad "can create the premise for strengthening and relaunching the airline," Poste Italiane said. "However Alitalia has not yet supplied all the elements necessary for a full evaluation of the impact the agreement might have on the company's capital structure and debt," continued the statement. The Italian carrier received a 75-million-euro capital injection from State-owned post office Poste Italiane in December 2013 as part of a government-engineered 500-million-euro rescue package. Now the airline is putting its hopes in the Etihad deal, which could be closed in the coming weeks but involves "painful and arduous" restructuring including up to 2,500 layoffs.