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By Mauro Orru
Deutsche Lufthansa and Air France-KLM have expressed interest in TAP Air Portugal, after the Portuguese government said it plans to sell a majority stake in its flag carrier.
The government said in a statement on Thursday that the Council of Ministers had approved a decree to sell at least 51% of the company, reserving up to 5% for its employees. Finance Minister Fernando Medina said he was seeking large-scale investors, either alone or in consortia, that would leverage TAP to grow its national hub in Lisbon and bolster capacity at other national airports, including Porto.
“We do not seek to attract pure investments of a financial nature that are looking to get into TAP to then sell it or sell parts of it and we wish to reiterate TAP’s strategic contribution to the country,” Medina said.
The decision to privatize the airline paves the way for more consolidation in Europe’s aviation industry, after Germany’s Lufthansa bought a 41% stake in ITA Airways, the Italian carrier formerly known as Alitalia, and British Airways parent International Consolidated Airlines Group agreed to buy Spanish carrier Air Europa.
The successful bidder would gain access to TAP’s sprawling network and connections to South America, including Brazil, and other Portuguese-speaking countries in Africa such as Mozambique.
“In principle, the Lufthansa Group always wants to take an active role in the consolidation of the market,” a spokesman said. “That is why the planned sale of a stake in Portugal’s TAP is interesting for us. Lufthansa Group and TAP would complement each other very well, especially with TAP’s route network to and from South America.”
A spokesman for Air France-KLM said the group had a “strong interest in the privatization of TAP” and that it was awaiting details of the process.
Write to Mauro Orru at [email protected]; @MauroOrru94
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