Lisbon, May 29, 2026 (Lusa) – The Portuguese Competition Authority (AdC) has given the green light to the purchase of aviation catering group, Cateringpor, by Swiss group Gate Gourmet, as part of the process to divest TAP's stake in the catering company, the regulator announced on Friday.

"On 27 May 2026, the Board of the Competition Authority [...] decided to adopt a non-opposition decision to the operation, [...] as it is not likely to create significant obstacles to effective competition in the Portuguese market or a substantial part of it," reads a note published on the AdC website.

The regulator received notification on 20 April regarding the acquisition by Gate Gourmet Switzerland Holding GmbH of control over Cateringpor - Catering de Portugal.

TAP announced in mid-April the sale of its 51% stake in Cateringpor to the Gate Gourmet group, the airline's partner shareholder in the catering company and the only entity to submit a purchase proposal.

TAP launched a public tender on 30 December 2025 to divest an indivisible lot of 357,000 shares in Cateringpor. The shares had a nominal value of €5 each, representing 51% of the company's share capital, with a base price of €9.57 million.

The public tender also defined the contractual conditions for the provision of catering services by Cateringpor following the completion of the sale.

The divestment of the Cateringpor stake was one of the commitments under TAP's restructuring plan approved by the European Commission in 2021. Consequently, the airline's stakes in the catering and ground handling sectors (SPdH, formerly Groundforce), as well as real estate assets known as the "TAP stronghold", remained outside the scope of the ongoing privatisation process.

PD/RYOL // AYLS

Lusa