Compagnia Aerea Italiana (CAI) will present its formal bid for Alitalia's flight operations on Friday, sources at the Italian investor group have confirmed.
Friday is the deadline for bids set by Alitalia's government-appointed administrator Augusto Fantozzi based on the law which authorisee the spinoff and sale of the insolvent airline's flight operations.
CAI met on Wednesday and was incorporated as a joint stock company from its original status as a consortium.
The company's board will meet on Friday to give the final green light to the acquisition offer which will hinge on unions giving their approval to a single contract for future staff and a separate executive one for pilots.
The offer will also be subject to approval by the European Commission, which must decide whether CAI will benefit from unauthorised state subsidies, and anti-trust authorities.
Both decisions are expected before the end of November.
The end of November is when Fantozzi said Alitalia will run out of funds to operate in its current incarnation.
By then CAI is also expected to choose a foreign carrier to act as its strategic partner and be responsible for the day-to-day aspects of running an airline.
Air France-KLM, which already holds a 2% stake in Alitalia and is the biggest shareholder after the Italian Treasury, is currently considered to be the front-runner to become the new carrier's partner with a stake of 20%.
Company statutes adopted on Wednesday included a 'lock up' clause by which all CAI members must hold on to their investments for a period of five years.
However, during this five-year period CAI stocks can be transferred between company partners or Italian citizens or companies with the approval of an absolute majority of CAI board members.
The new board will remain seated for the first three fiscal years or through the approval of the 2010 balance sheet.
After the initial three-year period, CAI shares will be able to be sold on the stock market through a public offering.
The board is chaired by Piaggio Chairman Roberto Colaninno with Piaggio CEO Rocco Sabelli holding the same post in CAI while the other members are Gianluigi Aponte, Massimiliano Boschini, Francesco Caltagirone Bellavista, Carlo D'Urso, Corrado Fratini, Andrea Guerra, Salvatore Mancuso, Fausto Marchionni, Francesco Paolo Mattioli, Gaetano Micciche', Angelo Riva, Carlo Toto and Marco Tronchetti Provera.
In order to pay for Alitalia's over one-billion-euro debt, Fantozzi will sell or liquidate the carrier's remaining assets.
