Alitalia denies managers met Lufthansa over stake deal

Top managers at Alitalia and Lufthansa have not met to discuss the idea of the German airline buying a stake in the Italian flagship carrier, an Alitalia spokesman said Tuesday. "Alitalia managers did not meet with those from Lufthansa to talk about the German company entering (our) capital," the spokesman said. Italian daily Il Messaggero said Tuesday talks were under way between Alitalia CE Cramer Ball and CFO Duncan Naysmith with Lufthansa managers. The talks were aimed at finding a deal that could see Air Berlin being given to Lufthansa in exchange for the German carrier buying into Alitalia, the paper said. Etihad owns 49% of Alitalia and 29.2% of Air Berlin. <br/>