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EU: Etihad to win approval for Alitalia purchase this year

By  |  September 2, 2014

An unnamed source said EU officials will clear United Arab Emirates’ Etihad’s plans to acquire Italian airline Alitalia by the end of the year.

According to reports, the two airlines will file for approval of their merger with the European Commission some time this month, the source said Tuesday.

The airlines inked a deal last month that sees Etihad acquiring 49 percent of the struggling Italian airline for $2.31 billion. The transaction would allow Etihad to have access to the EU’s fourth-largest airline market, reports say.

The source said that the deal “should be conditional phase 1 clearance” by the European Commission by the end of the year.

Full content: Business Insider

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