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| Alitalia announces new chairman | Alitalia announces new chairman |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| Italian airline Alitalia has announced a new chairman, after takeover talks with Air France-KLM collapsed. | Italian airline Alitalia has announced a new chairman, after takeover talks with Air France-KLM collapsed. |
| The firm said Aristide Police would take over the position a day after Maurizio Prato resigned when talks to reach agreement with unions failed. | The firm said Aristide Police would take over the position a day after Maurizio Prato resigned when talks to reach agreement with unions failed. |
| The appointment was made after a day's emergency board meeting. The firm said it would inform the government by 8 April if it could survive. | |
| Mr Prato had warned unions that the firm risked going bankrupt. | Mr Prato had warned unions that the firm risked going bankrupt. |
| Alitalia said even though the deadline has passed the board was still looking at the takeover offer in order to assure the firm's profitability. | Alitalia said even though the deadline has passed the board was still looking at the takeover offer in order to assure the firm's profitability. |
| The Italian government, which has a 49.9% stake in the firm, meanwhile said it would check if Air France-KLM's decision to withdraw from talks was final. | |
| Unions, which earlier had failed to reach an agreement, said on Thursday they would be prepared to return to the negotiating table. | |
| Shares suspended | |
| Trading in Alitalia shares was suspended on Thursday. | |
| "This company is cursed: only an exorcist can save it," Mr Prato was quoted by unions as saying after the negotiations collapsed. | |
| This is a very dire situation Erika YoungFILT-CGIL union | |
| The Italian government has been trying for more than a year to sell its stake in the troubled national airline and says there are no other bidders. | |
| Failure to reach any agreement leaves the state-owned airline on the ropes just days before a general election. | |
| The government's sale of Alitalia has been opposed by prime ministerial candidate Silvio Berlusconi. | |
| 'Dire situation' | |
| Unions had objected to the expected loss of 2,100 jobs under the takeover plans. | |
| FILT-CGIL, the largest of nine unions representing Alitalia workers blamed Air France-KLM's chairman Jean-Cyril Spinetta, for the collapse of takeover talks. | |
| Meanwhile the final straw for Air France-KLM appeared to be a last minute attempt from unions to broker a side deal with an unidentified Italian company. | |
| The union defended its tactics: "It was a proposal by an Italian company to inject more cash into (Alitalia) and therefore give the company a better future, more investment and a relaunch," Erika Young, international officer for FILT-CGIL, told the BBC's World Business Report | |
| Air France-KLM has twice agreed to extend the deadline for a deal to take over the cash-strapped airline and increased its offer to 139m euros. | |
| "This is a very dire situation," Ms Young said. | |
| "We are still state-owned and therefore it's the government's responsibility to tell us now what they intend to do and how they intend to keep the Italian flag carrier afloat." | |
| Administration risk | |
| On Wednesday, Economy Minister Tommaso Padoa-Schioppa 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. | |
| Air France-KLM's offer to buy Alitalia for 0.10 euros per share would have needed union backing to go ahead. |