PE Deals

Certares-led bid chosen for exclusive ITA Airways talks

Air France-KLM and Delta Air Lines are backing the bid.

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  • Exclusive negotiations began on Wednesday
  • ITA Airways is owned by the Italian government

A Certares-led bid backed by Air France-KLM and Delta Air Lines has been chosen for exclusive talks to buy a majority stake in Italian government-owned ITA Airways.

Negotiations began on Wednesday, although further details of the potential deal have not been made public by the Italian Treasury.

Certares is a private equity firm that was founded in 2012. The firm has $10.2 billion in assets under management and invests across the travel and tourism, hospitality, business and consumer services sectors. The firm is headquartered in New York and has offices in Milan and Luxembourg.

ITA Airways is headquartered in Rome.