A decision on the future of national carrier Alitalia is expected to be postponed yet again after Transport Minister Alesandro Bianchi said on Tuesday that there was ''no rush''.
Speaking on the day the airline's board was to meet and decide between the rival takeover bids presented by Air France-KLM and Air One, Bianchi said: ''I don't know if there are all the elements to make a decision. I think there is a need to examine both offers better and this may take a few more days''.
''There's no rush, considering this has been going on for a year now. We have two concrete proposals and we need to examine them fully in the interests of the nation,'' he added.
A decision on who would be offered the Treasury's 49.9% stake in Alitalia was to have been made last Thursday but was postponed after a split apparently developed within the government between those who believe Alitalia should become part of Europe's biggest carrier and those who want the airline to stand alone and retain its national identity.
Most observers see the choice as a toss up between the two contenders, while other noted that a possible postponement may have something to do with the visit French president Nicolas Sarkozy will pay to Rome on Thursday.
Air France-KLM has said it was ready to launch a take-over bid for 100% of Alitalia through a share-swap with Europe's biggest carrier.
The group also said it would buy up outstanding Alitalia convertible bonds and planned an immediate investment of 750 million euros, through a rights issue open to all Alitalia shareholders and guaranteed by Air France-KLM.
The French-Dutch carrier also said that renewing Alitalia's fleet would be a top priority and that together the three European brands ''will be able to offer clients an unparalleled international network''.
Air One, through its parent company AP Holding, confirmed that it will be offering one euro cent per Alitalia share, compared to a reported 35 cents by Air France-KLM, and that it expected Alitalia to break even by 2009 and to return to profit by 2010.
Chairman Carlo Toto added that AP Holding would invest a total of five billion euros in Alitalia, one billion to boost the company's capital and four to renew its fleet.
The Air One chief also said that an international partner would be found once the airline was back on its feet.
The government decided at the end of last year to sell most if not all of the Treasury's 49.9% stake in Alitalia.
An attempt to auction the stake failed this summer after all bidders dropped out because of the conditions imposed by the Treasury.
It was then decided that Alitalia management would negotiate the direct sale of the Treasury's stake.
Air France-KLM and Air One are the two remaining contenders from an original short list which also included German carrier Lufthansa; Aeroflot Russian Airlines; the American private equity group Texas Pacific; and a group of investors headed by former Constitutional Court justice Antonio Baldassarre.
All dropped out during the negotiation phase except the Baldassarre consortium, which the Alitalia board dropped on the grounds that it did not have the ''necessary requisites'' to present a bid.
