Air France denies involvement in bid to take over Alitalia

Air France Saturday denied that it had made an offer to buy the struggling Alitalia, a day after an Italian govt minister said the French carrier had made a joint bid with EasyJet. Italian Industry minister Carlo Calenda Friday said separate offers had been presented by US private equity fund Cerberus and Lufthansa, as well as a joint Air France-EasyJet bid. But Air France said it had not taken part in the process launched by the Italian authorities. "Air France-KLM denies having made an offer to take over Alitalia," Air France said. Heavily indebted Alitalia, which has only turned a profit a few times in its 70-year history, was put under special administration last year after its staff rejected a plan to cut jobs and salaries. <br/>