Portugal puts national airline TAP up for sale
Portugal’s national carrier TAP has been put up for sale by the government in a move that opens the way for more airline consolidation and a potential bidding war involving British Airways owner IAG and Air France-KLM. Fernando Medina, Portugal’s finance minister, said on Thursday that the cabinet had approved the privatisation of the airline — which is wholly owned by the government — and that at least 51% of its shares would be sold. TAP, which is estimated to be worth around E1b and swung back into profit last year, is emerging from years of trouble that have included near bankruptcy, a government bailout and scandals. Its sale would represent a new stage of consolidation in Europe’s airline industry, which has been accelerated by the pandemic. The region’s three major airline groups, IAG, Air France-KLM and Lufthansa, have each said they are looking for acquisitions and expressed interest in TAP, which would open up the increasingly lucrative South American market. “We see the takeover of TAP as being part of the ongoing consolidation that [is] playing out in Europe with the end game likely being three large network carriers and Ryanair,” said Mark Simpson, aviation analyst at Goodbody. Luis Gallego, IAG’s CE, said in Lisbon on Wednesday: “We’ll have to study the process [of privatisation] and carefully consider the details, but we feel optimistic and believe that TAP can become another success story within IAG.” IAG earlier this year agreed a deal to buy Spain’s Air Europa, while Lufthansa bought Italy’s ITA, the successor to the defunct Alitalia. On TAP, Medina said: “There are interested airlines and their interest is public, which we welcome as a positive sign for the success of this operation.” He also noted TAP’s “privileged connections” to the Portuguese-speaking countries Brazil, Angola and Mozambique. TAP ended a protracted run of losses and returned to the black in 2022 with a profit of E66m. The Portuguese government left open the option of selling 100% of its TAP shares, but also said up to 5% would be reserved for employees of the company.<br/>
https://portal.staralliance.com/cms/news/hot-topics/2023-09-29/star/portugal-puts-national-airline-tap-up-for-sale
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Portugal puts national airline TAP up for sale
Portugal’s national carrier TAP has been put up for sale by the government in a move that opens the way for more airline consolidation and a potential bidding war involving British Airways owner IAG and Air France-KLM. Fernando Medina, Portugal’s finance minister, said on Thursday that the cabinet had approved the privatisation of the airline — which is wholly owned by the government — and that at least 51% of its shares would be sold. TAP, which is estimated to be worth around E1b and swung back into profit last year, is emerging from years of trouble that have included near bankruptcy, a government bailout and scandals. Its sale would represent a new stage of consolidation in Europe’s airline industry, which has been accelerated by the pandemic. The region’s three major airline groups, IAG, Air France-KLM and Lufthansa, have each said they are looking for acquisitions and expressed interest in TAP, which would open up the increasingly lucrative South American market. “We see the takeover of TAP as being part of the ongoing consolidation that [is] playing out in Europe with the end game likely being three large network carriers and Ryanair,” said Mark Simpson, aviation analyst at Goodbody. Luis Gallego, IAG’s CE, said in Lisbon on Wednesday: “We’ll have to study the process [of privatisation] and carefully consider the details, but we feel optimistic and believe that TAP can become another success story within IAG.” IAG earlier this year agreed a deal to buy Spain’s Air Europa, while Lufthansa bought Italy’s ITA, the successor to the defunct Alitalia. On TAP, Medina said: “There are interested airlines and their interest is public, which we welcome as a positive sign for the success of this operation.” He also noted TAP’s “privileged connections” to the Portuguese-speaking countries Brazil, Angola and Mozambique. TAP ended a protracted run of losses and returned to the black in 2022 with a profit of E66m. The Portuguese government left open the option of selling 100% of its TAP shares, but also said up to 5% would be reserved for employees of the company.<br/>
