2007. (Under Italian law, a buyer of more than 30% of a company must make a public offer to buy out the other shareholders.) In July 2007 the last of the bidders for Alitalia backed off, making the procedure fail. In September 2007, Maurizio Prato, at that time chairman, told senators in Rome "Alitalia is in a comatose state, it is in the intensive care unit". Further he said: "Personally, I am surprised by the general refusal to accept reality and by the fact that a company in this state does not have the possibility, even though it is listed on the stock market, to make autonomous decisions even if this is needed for its survival". Another attempt was made to sell the 49.9% stake of the Italian government through a different procedure, involving the selection of a single major partner with whom to contract. On December 6, 2007, three parties (Air France-KLM Group; an investment group led by businessman and lawyer Antonio Baldassare; and a group composed by the Italian domestic carrier Air One and several banks) presented proposals to purchase Alitalia. The Board of Directors of Alitalia announced the Air France-KLM Group as the winner. In March 2008 the Air France-KLM Group offered a share swap of €0.10 per share, a total of €138 million. The Air France-KLM Group offered to pay €608 million for the convertible bonds issued by Alitalia. The company would also invest €1 billion in Alitalia by selling new shares of Alitalia. Air France-KLM Group intended to maintain the Italian identity of Alitalia and an Italian would have a seat on Air France-KLM's board. It would restructure Alitalia's flight network, basing the bulk of its operations at Rome Leonardo da Vinci Fiumicino Airport and cutting international flights from Alitalia's second hub, Milan Malpensa Airport. Air France-KLM would end Alitalia's freight service by 2010. The terms of the Air France-KLM Group of the March 28 draft agreement were (with a deadline of 31 March 2008): that the possible consequences of a lawsuit by the Milan Malpensa Airport owners, Sea, will be dealt with by the Italian government. that the current and next government support this proposal. that the unions agree to the dismissal of 1,620 employees of Alitalia Fly: 567 pilots, 594 flight assistants, 121 foreign employees and 398 ground employees. that Air France-KLM will employ only 3,200 of the 7,600 employees of Alitalia's maintenance