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| Alitalia boss quits as talks end | Alitalia boss quits as talks end |
| (20 minutes later) | |
| Talks about a takeover of Alitalia by Air France-KLM have been abandoned and the Italian airline's chairman Maurizio Prato has resigned. | |
| It followed the breakdown of discussions between Air France-KLM's chief executive Jean-Cyril Spinetta and Alitalia's unions. | It followed the breakdown of discussions between Air France-KLM's chief executive Jean-Cyril Spinetta and Alitalia's unions. |
| Alitalia had set Wednesday as a deadline for an agreement. | Alitalia had set Wednesday as a deadline for an agreement. |
| Earlier, Italian Economy Minister Tommaso Padoa-Schioppa warned that there were no other possible bidders. | |
| Administration risk | |
| He said the only alternative to the Air France-KLM offer would be to put Alitalia into emergency administration. | |
| He also said a 300m euro ($470m; £236m) state bridging loan to Alitalia would be impossible unless the Air France-KLM deal was signed. | |
| Mr Prato had urged the unions to accept Air France-KLM's offer or risk the loss-making flag carrier going bankrupt. | |
| Air France-KLM's offer to buy Alitalia for 0.10 euros per share would have needed union backing to go ahead. | |
| Election due | |
| The Italian government has been trying for more than a year to sell its 49.9% stake in the troubled national airline. | |
| But the sale has been opposed by Milan's airport operator and prime ministerial candidate Silvio Berlusconi. | |
| Mr Berlusconi's opposition was a particular problem because there are elections due in April, which could bring him to power. | |
| Alitalia shares have been fluctuating wildly for weeks and were suspended earlier in the day. | |
| "Never in the history of the state's privatisations have so many and such difficult elements come together," Mr Padoa-Schioppa told a parliamentary hearing on Alitalia. |