Etihad CEO meets Alitalia shareholders to finalise deal

Hogan opens talks as carrier partners agree 300-mln-euro boost

(ANSA) - Rome, August 5 - Alitalia shareholders reached an agreement Tuesday on dividing up contributions to a 300-million-euro recapitalization of the troubled Italian carrier, official sources said. As well, Etihad Airways CEO James Hogan arrived in Rome for talks with shareholding partners and representatives of the airline's bankers aimed at finalizing a major deal with the airline despite staff continuing job action to protest looming layoffs. Hogan also met with Alitalia President Roberto Colaninno and Managing Director Giovanni Castellucci for some 30 minutes.

No statements were made after those preliminary talks. Also on Tuesday, publicly-owned mail service Poste Italiane disclosed that it is increasing its investment in Alitalia from 70 to 75 million euros, industry sources said. Meanwhile some ground crews involved in handling airline freight for Alitalia said they were protesting job cuts under the deal with Etihad by fulfilling no more than basic contract requirements. That was expected to slow down parcel handling and delay deliveries.

Unions were scheduled to meet Tuesday and again Thursday to discuss the deal, which is to be officially signed on Friday Labour remains one of the final hurdles in the pact, which will see Abu Dhabi-based Etihad invest about 560 million euros to take a 49% stake in Alitalia in what Transport Minister Maurizio Lupi has described as a life-saving deal that will keep the carrier from falling into the abyss. Most unions representing Alitalia workers have accepted Etihad's demands for 2,171 job cuts, and in some cases other positions have been offered to try to cushion the blow. But one union has called for a renegotiation of the pact, which also calls for wage cuts for Alitalia workers than remain after the Etihad deal. Alitalia has said that all its unions must support the Etihad deal before it can be finalized.

The deal cleared a major hurdle last week when Alitalia's board agreed to formally recommend shareholders approve a 300-million-euro capital increase to keep the airline alive until the Etihad deal is finalized. Also on Tuesday, Unicredit CEO Federico Ghizzoni commented that the light has become visible at the end of the tunnel. "I think the deal is going in the right direction and that we are close to signing," said Ghizzoni, whose bank owns almost 13% of Alitalia.