MILAN, Italy — Investors relaunching Alitalia will officially take possession of Alitalia's profitable assets in mid-December, but the new airline probably will not launch until January, officials said Monday.

The CAI Compagnia Aerea Italiana (Italian Air Company) was to take over assets of Alitalia on Monday _ but the deadline slipped due to technical reasons.

Alitalia's special administrator Augusto Fantozzi said in a statement on Monday that CAI and Alitalia will officially sign the deal Dec. 12, at which time CAI will assume "the goods and risks relative to the management" of Alitalia.

However, the new, streamlined Alitalia will not be ready to launch until CAI has completed the acquisition of the much-smaller Air One, which it will merge to create the new airline. Talks were under way, and it was unclear when that could be completed.

Italian media have reported the launch date will likely be in early January. A CAI spokesman, speaking on condition of anonymity because he is not permitted to speak on the record to the media, confirmed a January launch was likely.

CAI has agreed to a euro1.052 billion ($1.33 billion) deal to acquire Alitalia's profitable assets, while Fantozzi is working on selling others. CAI also was completing the process of hiring Alitalia workers to join the new company.