Alitalia gets qualified thumbs-up from Atlantia, state railways

Alitalia won a commitment from toll-road operator Atlantia and state railways Ferrovie dello Stato (FS) Tuesday to come to its rescue provided a number of conditions were met. The green light will avert the threat of liquidation hanging over the ailing carrier as an Oct 15 deadline set by the industry ministry for a deal expires. Two sources close to the matter said the Industry Ministry was expected to extend the deadline to give the sides time to iron out certain issues. It was not possible to obtain an immediate comment from the ministry. Several hurdles still must be overcome before the third turnaround attempt in Alitalia's history can be launched. The state-driven plan involves setting up a new company to hold the good assets of Alitalia and receive a cash injection expected to be around US$1.1b from the rescuers. <br/>