Europe's largest airline group, Lufthansa, announced Tuesday its intention to expand its current minority stake in Italy's ITA Airways to 90%.
Lufthansa said it "will exercise its option to acquire a majority stake in ITA Airways in June of this year" at "a previously agreed purchase price of €325 million," the Lufthansa Group said.
It added that the deal, which was approved by the company's board on Monday, remains subject to regulatory approvals in both the European Union and the United States.
Since acquiring a 41% minority stake in ITA Airways in January 2025, Lufthansa has reserved the right to gradually increase its ownership.
The seller is the Italian government, which had previously held 59% of the airline. It will now retain a 10% stake.
Analysts said the move accelerates consolidation in Europe’s airline sector while giving Lufthansa stronger access to the Italian market and long-haul growth opportunities via Rome.
The increased ownership means "ITA Airways will be fully integrated into the Lufthansa Group, both organisationally and financially", the company said.
"All customer-facing interfaces are already integrated," Lufthansa chief executive Carsten Spohr said, with "the exception of North Atlantic flights", where "regulatory approval for our merger is still pending".
If approved, the acquisition is expected to be completed by the first quarter of 2027.
In a separate statement, ITA Airways chief Joerg Eberhart welcomed the deal as "a step of major industrial and strategic significance for ITA Airways" and said the airline's "full integration into the Lufthansa Group will allow us to compete more strongly in international markets".
Lufthansa's share price was up by 2% early afternoon in Europe.
