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Italy in talks with foreign company to save Alitalia: Berlusconi
2008-08-07
ROME (AFP) - Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi said Thursday talks were being held with a "large foreign company" about forming an alliance with Alitalia to save the cash-strapped national airline from bankruptcy. "We're aiming for Italy to have a profit-making national carrier," Berlusconi told national news channel TG1. "We have a plan, we have the shareholders, we have the necessary funds, we're talking to a large foreign company to form an alliance that would make a difference internationally," he said. The Italian government said late last month it had pulled together enough funds to rescue the airline, which has been surviving on a loan of 300 million euros (471 million dollars) made in late April from public funds after talks for an Air France-KLM takeover collapsed. State-controlled Alitalia employs 11,100 people in airline transportation while 8,300 work in maintenance for AZ Servizi, controlled by a public holding company. It recorded pre-tax losses of 215 million euros in the first quarter of this year.
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