July 29th marked the official date for the submission of a takeover bid in the privatisation of the Portuguese company TAP Air Portugal. Two of Europe's largest airline groups, Air France-KLM and Lufthansa Group, have each submitted their offers to Parpública, the Portuguese state's investment company, in order to acquire a minority stake in the national airline.
Air France-KLM supported by Delta Air Lines
Air France-KLM has confirmed that it has submitted an offer for a stake of between 44.9 % and 49.9 % of the share capital of TAPThe offer benefits from the support of its transatlantic joint venture partner, Delta Air Lines, which shares the Franco-Dutch group's vision of strengthening Portugal's international role.
Air France-KLM intends to make Lisbon its main hub in Southern Europe. The group believes that the integration of TAP would considerably strengthen its transatlantic network, particularly towards the Brazil, Africa and North America. TAP holds a dominant position on routes between Europe and Brazil, a particularly strategic market for Air France-KLM, which already collaborates with the Brazilian airline GOL to ensure extensive domestic connectivity.
Beyond commercial development, Air France-KLM also pledges to invest in aeronautical maintenance activities in Portugal, supplementing its existing facilities in France and the Netherlands, with the aim of creating new industrial capabilities in the country.
For Benjamin Smith, CEO of the Air France-KLM group, " What we are proposing today is not just a financial offer for an airline. It is an ambitious, long-term strategic project for TAP and for Portugal as a whole. It is also a vision for the future of this emblematic national carrier." .
70 years of relations between Lufthansa and Portugal
For its part, Lufthansa Group has also submitted an offer aiming to acquire an initially minority stake in order to forge a long-term partnership with TAP Air Portugal. A partnership which, according to the group's CEO, Carsten Spohrreliant close ties between Lufthansa and Portugal for over 70 years. The airlines in the group currently operate 353 flights per week to and from the country and employ over 500 people in Portugal.
The German group claims that its offer goes beyond a simple financial investment, combining industrial commitments, job creation, social investments, and economic development. It also highlights its experience in integrating national companies such as Swiss, Austrian Airlines, Brussels Airlines, or most recently, ITA Airways, while preserving their identity.
For Lufthansa, Lisbon would become a strategic hub connecting Europe to Latin America, Africa and North America, strengthening the group's presence in the South Atlantic.
Lufthansa is also highlighting its industrial investments. The construction of a new Lufthansa Technik centre in Santa Maria da Feira, near Porto, dedicated to the repair of aircraft engines and components, is expected to increase the group's workforce in Portugal to over a thousand employees by 2030.
Parpública now has 30 days to analyse the documentation from the two carriers, and to submit its conclusions to the Portuguese government, which will then have to choose between these two major industrial projects, which in the long term will reinforce Lisbon's role as a key air hub between Europe and the Americas.
