Tap Airlines, privatisation disappoints: three bids for the Portuguese company

Portugal's public holding company Parpublica has announced that it has received only three expressions of interest for the minority stake in Tap Airlines. All three came from European groups, while none came from international airlines. Iag (British Airways), Air France-Klm and Germany's Lufthansa have already said they have come forward and expressed interest in the privatisation.

Portugal has recently relaunched the long-awaited privatisation of the airline Tap Airlines, aiming to sell 44.9% of the capital (valued at EUR 700 million by Bernstein analysts) to a group capable of boosting the company's international standing and its competitiveness on a global scale. A further 5% of the capital will instead be offered to the group's employees. The expectation, according to what Portuguese Prime Minister Luis Montenegro declared in July, was to attract the interest of airlines even from outside the European Union.

But this was not the case: bids had to be submitted by 5pm on Saturday, but no one moved from outside the European Union. There are, as mentioned, three bids from companies from the Old Continent. Parpublica announced in a note that it now has until 12 December to decide whether the bids received meet the criteria for privatisation. Non-binding offers are expected by March, then it can move on to binding offers and the strategic plan for Tap. The Portuguese company's most attractive strategic asset is its routes to Brazil, a country connected to the capital Lisbon.