Alitalia received a boost to its hopes of rescue on Thursday with signs that Lufthansa could take a stake in the Italian carrier, while Rome agreed to a €350 million ($389 million) bridging loan to ease immediate cash worries.

Loss-making Alitalia has been run by special administrators since May 2017, and talks led by state-owned railway group Ferrovie dello Stato to put together a consortium of rescuers have been going on for a year without coming close to a deal.

Until now Ferrovie has been negotiating with U.S. carrier Delta Air Lines and infrastructure group Atlantia, but the three potential partners have been divided on key aspects of the rescue plan, including the size of their respective investments.