MILAN (Reuters) - Italy's industry ministry appointed on Friday a new temporary administrator for Alitalia, after his three predecessors ended their mandate without finding a solution for the struggling airline.
After a consortium of potential rescuers backtracked, the appointment of Giuseppe Leogrande allows Rome to unlock a further loan of 400 million euros ($441 million) needed to keep the loss-making carrier in business and potentially increase the chances of a future tie-up with German rival Lufthansa (DE:LHAG).
Sources had told Reuters last month that Industry Minister Stefano Patuanelli would ask the current administrators - Daniele Discepolo, Enrico Laghi and Stefano Paleari - to quit to make room for a single administrator with more powers.
A consortium of potential investors - comprising Italian railways group Ferrovie dello Stato, infrastructure group Atlantia (MI:ATL) and U.S. carrier Delta (N:DAL) - decided not to present a binding offer for Alitalia last month after months of negotiations.
Lufthansa has repeatedly said it would be interested in investing in Alitalia once it went through a complete restructuring.
The Italian airline, which went through two previous rescues in 2008 and 2014, has a workforce of 11,600 people.
Industry analysts calculate Alitalia has already burnt through roughly 9 billion of euros in taxpayers' money.