All the legal advisors on the closing Lufthansa-ITA Airways
The closing of Lufthansa‘s acquisition of 41% of ITA Airways has been completed. BonelliErede, Gianni & Origoni, and Freshfields acted as advisors in the transaction.
BonelliErede assisted Lufthansa in closing the acquisition of a 41% stake in ITA Airways, signed with the Italian Ministry of Economy and Finance (MEF), both assisted by Gianni & Origoni. The remaining 59% of the company will continue to be held by the MEF.
The closing follows agreements between the parties signed in May 2023 and subsequent authorization in November 2024 by the European Commission and other non-European authorities. The first phase of the investment was implemented through a capital increase of 325 million euros; additionally, Lufthansa Group and MEF have agreed on options to acquire the remaining shares of ITA Airways, which can be exercised starting this year.
The parties have also established the appointment of Joerg Eberhart as CEO of ITA Airways and Lorenza Maggio as Chief Strategy and Integration Officer and member of ITA’s Board of Directors.
With the closing of the transaction, ITA Airways officially becomes part of the Lufthansa group, which thus consolidates its presence in the international market while contributing to protecting jobs in Italy and international connections vital to the country’s economy and businesses.
All the legal advisors
During the closing, Lufthansa acted for legal and antitrust aspects with an in-house team led by Christian Raepple (PICTURED), Senior Director ITA Corporate Integration, and including the lawyers Alessandro Perrone and Christine Nowak. Kerstin Schulz e Patricia Di Fabio, from Lufthansa’s tax department, also took part in the deal.
The company was assisted for antitrust aspects during the operation by Freshfields with an international team that included partners Peter Niggemann, Katrin Gassner, Ermelinda Spinelli, and senior associates Mathilde Beaumunier and Cecilia Carli.
BonelliErede acted with a team led by partner Vittorio Lupoli and composed, for M&A and corporate law aspects, of of counsel Lucia Radicioni, senior counsel Fabio Macrì, and associate Filippo Airoldi.
GOP acted with a team led by senior partner Francesco Gianni and composed, for M&A aspects, of partner Andrea Aiello, managing associate Caterina Pistocchi, and associates Federico Vasile and Filippo Tirelli, while partner Fabio Chiarenza handled tax aspects. Antitrust aspects were handled by partners Piero Fattori and Francesco Maria Salerno, managing associate Chiara Militello, and associate Umberto Di Francia.
For ITA Airways, corporate, antitrust and regulatory aspects were managed by the team led by Paolo M. Quaini.