- Lufthansa Group and the Portuguese government have signed an agreement for a 44.9pc minority stake in TAP Air Portugal
- The stake is valued at €1.025bn
- The investment will be financed from available liquidity
- Lufthansa could increase its stake to up to 49.9pc through shares initially offered to employees
- The addition would increase Lufthansa’s market share in the Europe to Latin America segment from 9pc to about 20pc
Lufthansa Group and the Portuguese government have signed an agreement for the German aviation group to acquire a 44.9pc minority stake in TAP Air Portugal for €1.025bn. The investment will be financed entirely from available liquidity. Through the potential acquisition of shares initially offered to employees, Lufthansa could increase its stake to up to 49.9pc, taking the total purchase price to as much as €1.2bn.
Lufthansa expressly welcomes the prospect of a full privatisation of the state-owned carrier. A majority stake would offer additional opportunities to accelerate TAP’s growth, strengthen its competitiveness and unlock further potential within the airline group. The addition of TAP Air Portugal would increase the group’s market share in the Europe to Latin America segment from 9pc to approximately 20pc and establish Lisbon as Lufthansa Group’s seventh hub.
Porto, the Azores, Madeira and the Algarve are integral parts of the group’s growth strategy. TAP’s chief executive officer Luís Rodrigues recently said that the most challenging part of the process was yet to come: obtaining the necessary approvals from European authorities. Lufthansa Group wholly owns Lufthansa, Air Dolomiti, Austrian Airlines, Brussels Airlines, Discover Airlines, Edelweiss Air, Eurowings and Swiss.
Carsten Spohr shared “Our networks complement each other ideally and open up new growth opportunities for us in Portugal and in particular in South America and Brazil. Together with TAP’s employees, we want to continue the airline’s success story, preserve its Portuguese identity and develop Lisbon into a Lufthansa Group hub.”
