The Portuguese government expects that the partial privatisation of flag carrier TAP Air Portugal (TP, Lisbon) will attract interest from large airlines based outside as well as within the European Union, according to Prime Minister Luís Montenegro.
As reported by Reuters, Montenegro expects non-EU carriers to express interest in a minority stake in the airline, although he did not name any who could be potential bidders. So far, Air France-KLM, IAG International Airlines Group, and Lufthansa Group have held meetings with the government about TAP over the past year.
Lisbon recently approved divesting a 49.9% stake of TAP Air Portugal, including a 44.9% stake to one or more investors and 5% stake to the carrier’s employees. Quizzed in the country’s parliament on July 17, Montenegro elaborated that this could be just the first stage in an eventual full privatisation of the airline.
TAP Air Portugal operates a fleet of 83 aircraft: three A319-100s, fifteen A320-200s (one wet-leased from Airhub Airlines), fifteen A320-200Ns, four A321-200s (one wet-leased from Avion Express), six A321-200Ns, four A321-200NXs, thirteen A321-200NX(LR)s, four A330-200s (one wet-leased from Hi Fly Malta), and nineteen A330-900Ns.
In related news, the Portuguese daily Jornal de Negócios reported that a key factor that could boost investor interest is the company’s EUR471 million euros (USD549 million) in accumulated tax credits, which can be used to offset future tax liabilities.
However, legal risks remain a concern. The government has decided that the future shareholder will assume responsibility for any compensation linked to ongoing litigation, the newspaper reported, which could potentially include Azul Linhas Aéreas Brasileiras’ EUR178 million (USD207 million) loan from 2016, about which both companies and the Portuguese government are currently in a legal dispute.
