Italy receives offers for troubled flagship carrier ITA

The Italian government has received offers from foreign bidders for its new national airline Italia Trasporto Aereo, or ITA, the successor to long-troubled carrier Alitalia, according to people familiar with the matter.

The offers are about 200 million euros ($205 million) lower than the initial ones, said one of the people who declined to be named because the negotiations are not public. 

ITA expects to close the transaction by the end of the year, Chief Executive Officer Fabio Lazzerini said last month. 

The bids include one led by container giant MSC Mediterranean Shipping Co. partnering with German airline Deutsche Lufthansa AG, and one headed by US-based Certares Management LLC, a travel and tourism-focused investment firm.

A successful sale would mark a big win for Prime Minister Mario Draghi in the wake of a series of failed divestments by previous administrations over the course of more than a decade.