The period of bidding is about done and 11 parties have expressed interest. We find it interesting there are even that many. Alitalia is not a going concern, it loses over a million dollars per day. Its labor force loves strikes more than work. The Italian government prefers to give in rather than put its foot down – by protecting the airline from competition. We cannot see how any bidder can be serious and it is good to see all expressions now are only of "interest".
The most credible group mentioned is associated with the pilots – at least they have a horse in the race. None of the others is going to be able to fend of the labor unrest and route cuts needed.
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Reuters – Eleven bidders have expressed interest in buying Alitalia, far more than expected, but long- time partner Air France KLM was not one of them. Air France, once considered Alitalia's most likely suitor, said the conditions were not right for a bid after a government deadline for expressing interest passed on Monday.
Europe's fifth largest airline, which is losing over EUR1 million euros ($1.3 million) a day, has not posted an operating profit since 1998, despite several restructuring efforts, and has frequently suffered strikes by uncompromising unions.
As expected, most of the interest came from buyout funds betting on a recovery, or a sharp restructuring, rather than rival airlines interested, although they could join a consortium later.
Interested parties include US buyout fund Texas Pacific, Unicredit's investment bank arm and Carlo Toto, the head of low-cost Italian airline Air One, the Italian Treasury said in a statement. Italian entrepreneur Carlo De Benedetti's Management & Capitali, known for turning companies around, US firm MatlinPatterson Global Advisers and Britain's Terra Firma Investments were also on the list.
Italy, which holds 49.9 percent of Alitalia, had sought bidders for at least a 30.1 percent stake, forcing the buyer to make an offer for the entire airline.
A motley crew of lesser known names from Net Present Value, a group backed by a pilots' association, to Fabio Scaccia — who told the ANSA news agency he was an "indignant citizen" without a penny to his name — also appeared on the list. So did Wonders & Dreams, an outfit run by mysterious Italian financier Paolo Alazraki.
"The 11 expressions of interest are not that significant, given that they are not binding," said Fabrizio Solari, leader of one of Alitalia's unions. "One has to note that they carry different weight and I think the final buyer will be someone that is not on the list."
Analysts have warned that strong interest in the first round may not guarantee a suitor will be found. Some could be tempted solely to take a look at Alitalia's books. Others could throw in the towel if Italy decides to give buyers little freedom in slashing the airline's work force of 19,000 plus.
It is also not clear how much the airline, which has a market value of just under EUR1.5 billion, can command. "The issue is not whether they get bidders, but whether those bids are anywhere near the current share price," said Mike Powell, an analyst at Dresdner Kleinwort Securities. "You'd have to be very, very brave to pay even a quarter of the current share price."
Italy will have at least another round to review offers and has said it hopes to wrap up the sale process within six months. The industry minister said on Monday he hoped it could be completed in as little as a couple of months.
The airline, which has claim to the lucrative Milan-Rome route and valuable slots at its Milan Malpensa hub, blamed high fuel costs and labor unrest among its many problems. As if the underline these woes, just minutes before the would-be bidders were announced, Alitalia put out its own statement — advising customers to call ahead due to a planned strike by air traffic controllers on Tuesday.
