Jan. 30 (Bloomberg) -- Shares of Alitalia SpA, Italy's largest airline, may rise as a plan to sell the state's stake in the unprofitable carrier attracted 11 possible bidders, including Texas Pacific Group and Unicredit SpA.

The stock in Milan yesterday rose 2 cents, or 1.9 percent, to 1.10 euros before being suspended in advance of a Ministry of Finance announcement of expressions of interest in the carrier. The shares have gained 4.5 percent this year, valuing Rome-based Alitalia at 1.51 billion euros ($2 billion).

``The stock is likely to continue to rise tomorrow, given that it was a success,'' Patrizio Pazzaglia, who helps manage $400 million at Bank Insinger de Beaufort NV in Rome and doesn't own Alitalia stock, said yesterday.

Italy's government decided in December to sell Alitalia after Prime Minister Romano Prodi abandoned turnaround efforts. The airline last reported a profit in 2002 and estimated Jan. 28 the 2006 loss was 380 million euros as strikes, competition and flight cutbacks reduced revenue.

The ministry required potential bidders to agree to buy at least 30.1 percent of the state's stake in the airline. That would trigger an Italian law requiring a buyer to make an offer for the whole carrier. The government owns 49.9 percent of the carrier.

Alitalia has no operating board of directors after the Jan. 17 departure of Air France-KLM Group Chief Executive Officer Jean- Cyril Spinetta. The board was left with two members, one fewer than a voting quorum.

Three Months' Talks

The next two or three months ``will be spent discussing with the investor or investors who will present offers about the industrial plan, the best means for air transportation and the problems'' connected with Italy's aviation industry, Transport Minister Alessandro Bianchi said yesterday in Milan.

``I hope it's less time than that because we've seen that Alitalia can't wait long,'' Bank Insinger's Pazzaglia said. ``Someone needs to guarantee the implementation of the new industrial plan.''

Alitalia said Jan. 28 that it has cash to survive for more than a year.

Unicredit, Italy's biggest bank by assets, is bidding through its UBM investment-banking unit. The division ``may involve other financial and industrial partners in a second stage of the deal,'' a spokeswoman for the bank said.

Texas Pacific also will invite Italian and foreign investors to join an eventual offer to buy the company, the Fort Worth, Texas-based buyout firm said in a statement.

Buying Qantas

The U.S. company is part of a group buying Qantas Airways Ltd., Australia's biggest carrier. Texas Pacific said its other experience in airline-industry investments include stakes in Continental Airlines Inc., America West Airlines Inc. and Ryanair Holdings Plc.

The Management & Capitali SpA investment company of Italian financier Carlo De Benedetti as well as Carlo Toto, the owner of the country's second-largest airline, Air One, were also among investors submitting expressions of interest in buying Alitalia, the Finance Ministry said in a statement yesterday.

MatlinPatterson Global Advisers LLC and Terra Firma Investments (GP) 3 Ltd. investment funds were also on the list of potential suitors submitting documents.

Milan-based Management & Capitali, which has capital of 510 million euros, buys holdings in failing companies and works to make them profitable with investment partners including Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Cerberus Capital Management.

``At the end there will be three or four groups of investors, which will be the most credible, for sure the private equity companies,'' said Christian Oddono, an analyst with Actinvest in London.

Toto Interest

Toto submitted his expression of interest through wholly owned AP Holding SpA. He has helped build Air One's share of the domestic market to 26 percent in 2005 from 8.2 percent in 1998, in contrast to Alitalia's drop to 44 percent from 66 percent, according to Oliviero Baccelli, deputy director of the Center of Regional, Transport and Tourism Economy at Bocconi University in Milan.

Air France-KLM Group, Europe's biggest airline, said yesterday that it didn't present an expression of interest in Alitalia in the absence of unspecified ``conditions'' the Paris-based carrier had sought.

The two companies are part of the SkyTeam alliance and have a code-sharing agreement allowing them to sell seats on the partner's flights on certain routes. Air France owns about 2 percent of Alitalia. ``Air France-KLM wants to continue and develop its partnership with Alitalia,'' the French company said.

To contact the reporter on this story: Alessandro Torello in Rome at atorello@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: January 30, 2007 02:38 EST