Air One says ready to make new Alitalia offer

By Philip Pullella

ROME, March 22 (Reuters) - The chairman of Italian airline Air One said in comments published on Saturday that his company was ready to make a new offer for Alitalia (AZPIa.MI: Quote, Profile, Research) but needed three weeks to study the ailing airliner's books.

Carlo Toto's comments were published a day after former prime minister Silvio Berlusconi vowed that if he won power in next month's elections he would veto Air France-KLM's (AIRF.PA: Quote, Profile, Research) deal to buy Alitalia.

Toto was quoted by Rome daily La Repubblica as saying Air One, together with Italian bank Intesa SanPaolo (ISP.MI: Quote, Profile, Research), had continued working on their project even after their initial offer for Alitalia was rejected by Italy's outgoing government.

"We had a great project for Alitalia and we still have one," La Repubblica quoted him as saying. He said Air One needed about three weeks to study Alitalia's books "and then we will present our binding offer".

Berlusconi said on Friday a consortium led by Air One would rescue Alitalia from the "arrogant and unacceptable" French offer by making a bid in three or four weeks.

But both Italy's economy minister Tommaso Padoa-Schioppa, who is overseeing the sale, and Berlusconi's main rival for the prime minister's post, Walter Veltroni, have said any new offer had to be made in a matter of days and not weeks.

"People keep dreaming there is more time, alternative buyers, alternative solutions. Alitalia has oxygen for a matter of weeks," Padoa-Schioppa told the Financial Times.

Veltroni has accused Berlusconi of bluffing to drum up nationalist sentiment ahead of the April 13-14 general election.