Italy sees no obstacle in getting European Union permission to save national air carrier Alitalia, because this bail-out will not draw on state funds, a minister told a newspaper published Sunday.
"I think it will be possible to obtain the green light from Brussels because this rescue will be done without the help of the state, be it for the former or the new Alitalia," Economic Development Minister Claudio Scajola said in an interview published in the daily Il Messaggero.
"It will be entirely a market operation because a private group is acquiring the shares Alitalia has declared insolvent," said Scajola.
The minister said the shares will be sold at market prices, with other potential buyers free to take part as well. European Economic and Monetary Affairs Commissioner Joaquin Almunia on Saturday said he hoped a solution in line with EU regulations could be found to the crisis. Alitalia on Friday said it had asked to be declared bankrupt and placed under special administration.
The Italian government on Thursday adopted a new bankruptcy bill which laid the groundwork for the airline's rescue by allowing failing companies to speed up certain procedures such as selling shares and laying off workers.
The bill also relaxed certain anti-trust rules so as to allow Italy's second carrier Air One to take part in Alitalia's rescue which will see its profitable operations moved into a new company financed by a series of new investors.
Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi said the plan meant Alitalia would remain under Italian control, allowing foreign participation only on a minority basis. Air France-KLM, which was spurned as a buyer in April, said it was ready to take a minority stake in the new company being set up to relaunch Alitalia.
Italian media reported Tuesday that 16 investors had pledged to support the new company, including top names in Italian industry and finance, with a total commitment likely to be worth around one billion euros (1.5 billion dollars).
Alitalia employs 11,100 people in its air transport operations and a further 8,300 in maintenance and services. The company, in which the Italian state has a 49.9 percent stake, has been surviving on a loan of 300 million euros made in late April from public funds after the collapse of the take-over talks with Air France-KLM.