Lufthansa and Swiss shipping group MSC offer to buy Alitalia successor ITA

Swiss-based shipping group MSC and German carrier Lufthansa (LHAG.DE) want to buy the majority of Alitalia successor ITA Airways and have asked for an exclusivity period of 90 days to study the deal, MSC and ITA said on Jan. 24.

Germany’s flagship carrier Lufthansa (LHAG.DE) is in talks to buy a 40% stake in state-owned Alitalia’s successor ITA Airways, two people familiar with the negotiations said on Sunday, following a newspaper report that a deal could be unveiled very soon.