Lufthansa Group plans to increase its ITA Airways stake to 90 per cent as part of an additional €325 million deal set to close in 2027, the company announced on Tuesday (12 May).
The move will see the European aviation giant exercise its option to acquire an additional 49 per cent of the Italian carrier after taking an initial 41 per cent stake in January 2025.
In the 16 months since, ITA has been gradually integrated into the Lufthansa Group, including the addition of the Italian airline’s content to Lufthansa’s NDC platforms. ITA has also joined the group’s Miles & More loyalty programme and has become a member of Star Alliance.
The €325 million transaction, which remains subject to regulatory approvals, is expected to close in the first quarter of 2027.
The takeover deal, first announced in 2023, includes a third and final phase that will allow Lufthansa to acquire the remaining 10 per cent of ITA from the Italian Ministry of Economy and Finance in 2028.
Speaking at Lufthansa’s Annual General Meeting on Tuesday, Group CEO Carsten Spohr, said: “Following the acquisition of the first 41 per cent stake in ITA Airways last year, we promised the fastest airline integration in our history. We aimed to complete all major integration steps into the Lufthansa Group within just 18 months.
“We have not only kept this promise. We were even faster: All customer-facing interfaces are already integrated today – with the exception of North Atlantic flights, where, as is well known, regulatory approval for our merger is still pending.”
He added: “Passengers already experience ITA Airways as an integrated part of the Lufthansa Group. With unified booking, sales and fare systems… In light of this success story, we decided to exercise our option to acquire an additional 49 per cent stake as early as June of this year.”
In a separate update this week, Lufthansa Group also announced orders for 10 Airbus A350-900 and 10 Boeing 787-9 aircraft, with the deals valued at $7.7 billion in total. Deliveries are expected to take place between 2032 and 2034.