CHICAGO, Jan 13 (Reuters) - Delta Air Lines Inc on Thursday said it has no plans to invest in Alitalia's successor ITA Airways.

The Italian carrier is looking for an equity partnership https://www.reuters.com/article/ita-airways-ma-idCNL8N2TS4KG and has started informal talks with some potential partners, both in Europe and overseas.

Sources close to ITA Airways told Reuters that the Italian carrier has been in contact with Germany's Lufthansa, British Airways and Delta Air, adding that formal talks could start by the end of March.

Last month, Delta launched a reciprocal codeshare agreement with ITA Airways. In an interview Chief Executive Ed Bastian said the U.S. carrier is working on the codeshare relationship.

"We have no plans to invest in them," Bastian told Reuters in an interview. (Reporting by Rajesh Kumar Singh; editing by David Evans)