MILAN: Delta Airlines, Air France-KLM, with the backing of an international fund, have presented an expression of interest to Italy’s government for a majority stake in Alitalia’s successor ITA Airways, daily La Repubblica reported on Thursday, citing a government source.

A further expression of interest arrived from another international fund which is already invested in low-cost carriers, the paper added.

The move comes after Germany’s Lufthansa had teamed up with shipping group MSC to express an interest in ITA and could soon be given access to its books after the Italian government detailed ways to sell the slimmed down airline.