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Lufthansa said Italy is the most important market outside of its existing home markets and the United States, noting its importance as both a business and tourism destination.
Beside its domestic German business, Lufthansa already operates the brands Swiss, Austrian Airlines and Brussels Airlines.
“The plan is to agree on the initial acquisition of a minority stake as well as on options to purchase the remaining shares at a later date,” Lufthansa said in a statement, adding it hoped to signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Italian Economy Ministry and move on to exclusive talks.
Italy held talks last year with U.S. private equity fund Certares, Air France KLM (OTC:AFLYY) and Delta about a deal for ITA but failed to reach an agreement.
Air France confirmed earlier on Wednesday that it would not bid for ITA.
