German airline Lufthansa intends to acquire a stake in Italian national airline ITA Airways, formerly Alitalia, according to a press release from Lufthansa.

”"The plan is to initially agree to acquire a minority stake as well as options that enable the purchase of the remaining shares at a later date," writes the German aviation giant.

Furthermore, Lufthansa states that on Wednesday the company has submitted an offer to the Italian Ministry of Economy and Finance to conclude a memorandum of understanding.

”Subject to both parties signing this Memorandum of Understanding, further negotiations and discussions could be conducted on an exclusive basis,” it said. 

For Lufthansa Group, Italy is the most important market outside the company's home markets and the USA, the German company announced in the press release.

Lufthansa shares were up about 4.5 percent at 4:15 p.m. on Wednesday.

Source: Dagens Industri