The Fight Is On For A Stake In TAP Air Portugal

The race is on for TAP Air Portugal. Both Air France-KLM and Lufthansa Group have filed non-binding offers for a minority stake in the Portuguese national carrier, meeting the April 2 deadline set by the government. This starts an evaluation process at Parpublica, the state-owned company that manages shareholdings in Portuguese companies. The preferred bidder should be announced this summer, hopefully followed by a binding offer.

The sale of a 44.9 percent minority stake in TAP, plus five percent for its employees, has been on the table for a few years

now, but was interrupted by political events, including changes in government. In September, the government said that the privatization should generate at least €700 million. In December, Parpublica confirmed that the direct sale would go ahead and that potential bidders had 90 days to file offers. They will be reviewed under national and European legislation in a process that could take many months, potentially up to a year or more.