Italy economy min sure Alitalia sale on track

ROME Feb 3 (Reuters) - The privatisation of Alitalia will go ahead despite a government collapse and legal challenges from a rival airline and Milan's airport, Italy's economy minister was reported as saying in a Sunday newspaper.

Tommaso Padoa-Schioppa, who remains head of the Treasury in a caretaker capacity after the fall of Romano Prodi's government last month, told Il Sole 24 Ore he was "firmly confident that this deal will conclude positively despite all these tensions".

Alitalia AZPIa.MI is in the final stages of exclusive takeover talks with Air France-KLM (AIRF.PA). The sale would relieve the state of its 49.9 percent stake in an airline that loses more than 1 million euros ($1.5 million) a day.

But the sale is opposed by some parties who would prefer the flag carrier to remain Italian.

Air One, a small privately owned Italian airline, will make its case to a court on Tuesday that the exclusive talks with Air France are illegal and it too should be allowed to approach Alitalia -- which Padoa-Schioppa rejected.

"It is normal practice in the business world to hold exclusive talks and by definition such negotiations cannot be held with more than one party," he said.

Air One, backed by bank Intesa Sanpaolo (ISP.MI), bid for Alitalia last year but lost out to Air France. Padoa-Schioppa said the smaller airline or any other party could still make a counter-bid once the exclusive talks are over and Air France has made a definitive offer.

"Air One can participate and make a counter-offer. Air France knows that. What's more, Alitalia is a publicly quoted company, no law prevents anyone from making a bid," he said.

HANDS OFF

Padoa-Schioppa said he had no influence over the talks which are being conducted by the CEOs of Air France and Alitalia, and dismissed suggestions that a caretaker government may not be able to conclude a sale.

"In a situation that is so critical and urgent the government in office has the duty to decide within the timeframe imposed by the dynamics of the procedure," he said.

Asked if the Treasury, which controls the state's 49.9 percent stake, would genuinely consider a bid from anyone other than Air France, he replied: "As the Americans say, we'll cross that bridge when we come to it.

"In principle, if there are counter-bids, they will be examined according to transparent and non-discriminatory rules, with the same parameters with which we will evaluate the offer that comes out of the exclusive talks.

"It's not just the price that counts, there are other parameters: safeguarding the market, an adequate territorial coverage, the capacity to invest, industrial reliability."

Padoa-Schioppa said he was confident of beating the legal challenge and hoped the court would take into account both the legal checks the state had made and "the extremely critical nature of the situation".

As for Milan airport's 1.25 million euro ($1.9 million) claim for damages from Alitalia for its decision to cut 70 percent of its flights there, Padoa-Schioppa said there was no case to answer.

"Alitalia's plan to reduce flights at (Milan) Malpensa has been known since August and was made before the Air France plan. It was not a request from Air France," he said.

"The hyping up of the Malpensa-Alitalia problem is a case of political opportunism rather than the result of a correct economic analysis."

Padoa-Schioppa said he was not concerned that Alitalia -- once considered a symbol of Italy's post-war economic success -- was set to pass into foreign ownership. He poked fun at those who had sought to control the airline for so long.

"I am one of the few Italians who doesn't know how to train the national soccer squad to win the World Cup or how to run Alitalia," he said. (Reporting by Robin Pomeroy; Editing by David Holmes)