On 28 September 2023 , Portugal approved a decree that established the rules for the privatization process of the airline TAP. The decision was taken after a meeting of the Council of Ministers.
The Portuguese government intends to sell controlling interest in at least 51% of TAP, another 5% would be in the hands of the company's employees, while the State's participation has not yet been determined.
Finance Minister Fernando Medina :
The government adopted today the decree which begins the procedure for the privatization of TAP,” announced Finance Minister Fernando Medina, at the end of the weekly meeting of the socialist executive, who “wishes to sell at least 51 % of the company's capital, reserving up to 5% for employees.
The government intends to adopt "by the end of the year, or at the beginning of next year at the latest" the detailed specifications that the future owner of the company will have to fulfill, indicated Mr. Medina without specifying the amount that the State could collect with this operation.
For now, the executive has defined several “strategic objectives” such as the growth of TAP and an air connections platform based in Portugal.
The Portuguese authorities intend to approve a document with the terms and requirements for the event this year. The privatization process is expected to be completed in mid-2024.
The total sale of the Lisbon-based carrier is not ruled out, groups such as Air France-KLM, Lufthansa and IAG, which controls British Airways and Iberia are among those interested in taking over the state-owned company.
“We are interested in the proposed sale of a stake in Tap,” commented a Lufthansa spokesperson. The two companies would complement each other very well, in particular thanks to the Tap route network to and from South America.
“We will have to study the privatization process and carefully consider the details, but we feel optimistic and believe that TAP can become another success story within IAG,” said Luis Gallego, CEO of the holding.
TAP transported 7.58 million passengers in the first half of 2023, an increase of 30% compared to the same period last year, but 4% when compared to 2019, the Covid-19 Pandemic year.
During the period, a net profit of 23 million euros was recorded, compared to a loss of 202 million euros a year earlier. The result was driven by increased revenues, amid growing demand for air travel.
The carrier, whose difficulties had increased with the Covid-19 pandemic, was renationalized urgently in 2020, benefiting from an injection of 3.2 billion euros of public funds accompanied by a plan restructuring negotiated with the European Commission.
