Aeroflot Abandons Bid For Alitalia Stake

(ITAR-TASS) June 27, 2007 -- Aeroflot, Russia's flagship carrier, has announced it is withdrawing its bid to buy a 49.9-percent stake in Italy's Alitalia airline.

Aeroflot said in a statement that is had not been given enough access to "critical information" and that conditions for the sale would have limited its plans for restructuring the struggling carrier.

Under the terms of the competition, the buyer must shoulder Alitalia's debt, which amounts to more than $1 billion.

(AP, AFP)