Evidently it was destiny that the most powerful and lightning-fast left foot in Italian football had to end up on the fuselage of an airplane, surrounded by the blue of the new Ita Airways livery. The state airline has decided to dedicate to Gigi Riva one of its Airbus 320s, renovated in the hangars in Shannon, Ireland. Yesterday the landing in Fiumicino, a few hours after the arrival of another plane made out to a sports legend: Sara Simeoni, Olympic champion in the high jump. The first Airbus with the blue livery, on the other hand, was named after the hero of the Mundial '82 Paolo Rossi, who died just over a year ago. Others were dedicated to Pietro Mennea, Fausto Coppi and Gino Bartali, Italian sportsmen "ambassadors in the world of professionalism, determination, strength, passion and grit", as Ita specified in a press release.
The moves
In the meantime, the privatization of the state-owned company has officially begun. The Government has passed the decree that initiates the procedure for finding a partner. There are two options: public offer or direct sale. At the moment on the table there is only the expression of interest presented by MSC and Lufthansa, but at Palazzo Chigi they ensure that there are other suitors. The Ministry of Economy, Ita's sole shareholder, will remain in the capital with a minority stake, which in a second phase could also be sold.
The negotiations
In order to proceed, the legal framework was needed first, which is now provided by the decree that initiates the "procedure for the sale of Ita", as announced by Prime Minister Mario Draghi. The consortium made up of MSC and the German company on January 24 announced the expression of interest to buy the majority of the company, asking for an exclusive period of 90 days for negotiations. It is now expected that other potential interested parties will uncover the cards. The name of Air France always circulates, which however, having not yet returned most of the Covid aid, cannot enter the capital of Ita. Delta, according to press leaks, would have announced to the government its intention to present an expression of interest.
(mr)