Portugal's PM: TAP airline privatization to be 'more favorable' than expected

Prime Minister Luís Montenegro stated that the partial privatization of the airline TAP will be "much more favorable than we expected a few years ago, even a few months ago." The head of the center-right government expressed strong confidence in recovering the Portuguese investment in TAP.

Montenegro believes the sale of a 44.9% stake will initiate TAP's full value recovery. He also anticipates future company results will allow dividends to gradually offset the initial investment. The government intends to sell this stake to a strategic partner while reserving another 5% for TAP employees. The state will retain at least 50.1% of the capital, ensuring continued control of the airline.

The privatization process has narrowed down to two bidders: Air France-KLM and Lufthansa. IAG, the parent company of Iberia and British Airways, did not submit a preliminary offer in April. The deadline for binding offers in the reprivatization process, initiated last year by Montenegro's administration, closed in July.

A new phase will now involve comparing the price, industrial project, and strategic commitments of the two remaining candidates. Parpública, the state-owned entity managing the process, will prepare a detailed report on the proposals and inquiries within 30 days. This report will then be submitted to the government for final consideration.