Italy cabinet to meet Thursday to delay Alitalia sale, bridge loan: Sources

A cabinet meeting has been called Thursday to approve a delay in the sales process of Alitalia and the repayment of a bridge loan, two government sources said Wednesday. On April 11 the Italian Industry ministry said it had received three offers for Alitalia, one of which, from Lufthansa, contained improved terms. The ministry said on that occasion a decree would be approved shortly to extend the sales process and repayment of the bridge loan beyond an April 30 deadline. Two days ago Europe’s antitrust said it had launched a procedure to see if the E900m bridge loan Rome granted the airline constituted state aid.<br/>