MILAN, Italy, Nov 12, 2024 (BSS/AFP) - The Italian government and Lufthansa reached a deal on the sale of a stake in flag carrier ITA Airways to the German airline, Rome announced Monday evening, hours before a midnight deadline to present the agreement to European regulators.

Both sides had been locked in tough negotiations on the price and terms of the deal, which will need to be cleared by the European Commission, the EU's antitrust regulator, to ensure fair competition.

Italian media reported that Lufthansa had asked for a 10 million euro discount on the 325 million euro ($346 million) purchase price of a 49 percent stake, which was refused by the government and led to stalled negotiations.

The sale comes after Lufthansa first bought a 41 percent stake in ITA in May 2023, also for 325 million euros, with the right to increase its stake to 100 percent in the medium term.

On Wednesday, Italian Economic Minister Giancarlo Giorgetti said the additional 49 percent stake would be sold for the same price.

"The economic conditions envisaged have not changed with respect to the agreement already signed," his office said in a statement, referring to the first deal.

Giorgetti also agreed to the European Commission's demands that a series of take-off and landing slots be transferred to other airlines to safeguard competition.

The German carrier had pointed to ITA's expected drop in value in the last quarter of 2024 as the reason for its discount request.

But an Italian government source told AFP last Tuesday that "Italy is not selling off its airline".

Faced with an impasse over the sale price, Giorgetti refused last Monday to sign a package of commitments concerning the deal to Brussels, unlike Lufthansa.

Asked by journalists about a possible summit meeting with Lufthansa CEO Carsten Spohr, Giorgetti replied that "it would be opportune".