Air France-KLM plans to place 51 pct of Alitalia in a separate Italian foundation or trust once it acquires the Italian airline, Il Sole 24 Ore reported.

The newspaper said the move is aimed at ‘safeguarding the Italian nationality of the company.’

A similar arrangement was made when Air France bought the Dutch carrier KLM in 2004.

Under the terms of the planned takeover, the French state would retain 17.8 pct of Air France-KLM-Alitalia, the Italian state 3 pct, the ‘market’ 67.7 pct and workers 11.5 pct, Il Sole said.

Italian Finance Minister Tommaso Padoa-Schioppa announced on Friday the opening of exclusive talks between Alitalia and Air France-KLM for a period of eight weeks.
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