German flag carrier Deutsche Lufthansa (Lufthansa) has submitted an offer to acquire a stake in the Italian loss-making national carrier ITA Airways.

In its proposal, the German airline said that it intends to initially pick a minority stake in ITA, with an option to acquire the remaining stake at a later stage.

However, it did not disclose financial details.

According to Bloomberg, Lufthansa plans to buy as much as 40% of the Alitalia successor in a first step.

The stake is valued at €200m-€300m, stated Reuters citing a source familiar with the development.

In a statement, Lufthansa said: ā€œToday, the company submitted an offer to the Italian Ministry of Economy And Finance (Ministero dell’economia e delle finanze) to conclude a memorandum of understanding (MOU) in this respect.

ā€œFor Lufthansa Group, Italy is the most important market outside of its home markets and the US. Italy’s importance for both business and private travel lies in its strong export-oriented economy and status as one of Europe’s top vacation spots.ā€

Depending on the MoU, both parties will get involved in further exclusive talks.

These discussions would prioritise the form of a possible equity investment, the commercial and operational integration of ITA into Lufthansa, as well as resulting synergies.

Lufthansa added: ā€œIn case of a binding agreement is reached, its implementation would be subject to approval by the relevant authorities.ā€

The carrier initially placed a joint bid with shipping firm MSC for the ITA deal but was left to pursue it solo after MSC dropped out from the race in November last year. 

In a separate development, Air France-KLM has also confirmed its intention to withdraw from the deal.

Last November, the Italian Government invested $400m in ITA Airways as it intended to sell the airline.

The investment from the government allowed the company to stay afloat amid a slower-than-expected sale process.

Alitalia stopped operations after accumulating a debt exceeding $11bn.