Italian bank UniCredit on Monday denied a report that it had held talks with Lufthansa over a possible role for the German airline in a bid for Alitalia.

Il Messaggero daily said Lufthansa wanted three conditions for a deal -- a clear idea of the struggling carrier's finances, a turnaround strategy and that a prospective consortium of Italian investors remove union obstacles.

UniCredit Chief Executive Alessandro Profumo, through the bank's German unit Bayerische Hypo-und Vereinsbank, met Lufthansa executives in Munich in the last few days to sound out a possible agreement, the daily said without citing sources.

A Lufthansa spokesman had no comment. A UniCredit spokeswoman said the bank had had no contacts with Lufthansa over Alitalia.

The Italian government has been trying to sell the state's 49.9 percent stake in Alitalia for more than a year. A sale to Air France-KLM -- considered its best shot at avoiding bankruptcy -- fell apart last month over union opposition.

Alitalia on Monday said it had received the EUR300 million euro emergency loan the outgoing Italian government agreed to grant it last month in a desperate bid to stave off bankruptcy at the airline. The loan must be repaid by year-end.

But the European Commission has expressed doubts about whether the loan falls within rules prohibiting further state aid to the carrier. Commission spokesman Michele Cercone said he had no comment on Alitalia receiving the loan.

Italian prime minister-elect Silvio Berlusconi has been promising for several weeks that a home-grown consortium to buy Alitalia would soon reveal itself. However, no one with concrete plans to rescue the airline has emerged.

Il Messaggero said Lufthansa wanted to be sure any role would leave its credit rating intact and would be interested in becoming an industrial partner in a restructured Alitalia.

Small Italian airline Air One, which has had a sales and technical partnership with Lufthansa since 2000, made a failed bid last year for Alitalia.

The German carrier's close ties with Air One has prompted frequent speculation in the Italian press that it could emerge as a partner in a new takeover bid for Alitalia.