Alitalia Falls on Doubt About Air France Bid MOVERS MARKETPLACE By Bloomberg

By Alessandro Torello

Shares of Alitalia fell 2 percent Monday after the French daily La Tribune reported that Air France-KLM Group, the biggest European airline, would not bid for Alitalia by a deadline of next Monday. Alitalia’s stock dropped 5 cents to 1.04, or $1.35, at the close of trading in Milan, valuing the airline at 1.44 billion. Air France’s reported decision “makes things harder for Alitalia because the company needs a plan for an industrial integration, not only for a financial turnaround,” said Gianpaolo Rivano, who manages assets at Gesti- Re SGR in Milan. Air France has “absolutely no comment,” Veronique Brachet, a spokeswoman, said.

The Italian government, which owns 49.9 percent of the unprofitable airline, has decided to sell at least 30.1 percent of the carrier, and interested investors are to present bids by Monday.

Air France may wait until after the deadline to make an offer if no candidate comes forward, La Tribune said.

Air France-KLM shares fell 1 cent, or less than 0.1 percent, to 34.63 in Paris.

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