Lisbon, Nov. 19, 2025 (Lusa) - Air France-KLM submitted its expression of interest in the TAP privatisation process to Parpública on Tuesday, ahead of the deadline set for 22 November.
In a statement, the Franco-Dutch group said that this step "demonstrates once again its strong and continued interest" in the operation, and that it is "looking forward to the next steps" in the process.
The government plans to sell up to 44.9% of the airline's capital, reserving 5% for the employees, as stipulated by the Privatisation Law. If this tranche is not fully subscribed, the future buyer will have pre-emptive rights.
As of 22 November, Parpública, the company that manages the state's shareholdings, has 20 days (until 12 December) to submit a report to the government describing the interested parties who have expressed an interest and assessing their compliance with the participation requirements.
Within 20 days of the report being made available, interested parties who have demonstrated that they fulfil the requirements are invited to submit a non-binding proposal. This second phase of the process, divided into four stages, stipulates that the proposal must include, among other things, the price offered for the acquisition of the shares and information on how to obtain the financial means required to carry out the purchase.
National or foreign operators, individually or in consortia, can submit bids, provided they fulfil the defined criteria, including revenues of more than €5 billion in at least one of the last three years and proven experience in the aviation sector.
The proposals will also be evaluated on fleet reinforcement, investment in maintenance and engineering, commitment to sustainable fuels, respect for labour commitments and vision regarding a possible reinforcement of the shareholder position, according to the recently published specifications.
As the government announced in July, the privatisation of TAP, which also includes Portugália, the TAP Healthcare Unit, Cateringpor and SPdH (formerly Groundforce), is expected to take place over the course of around a year. However, the final timetable depends on regulatory authorisations.
In addition to Air France-KLM, the German group Lufthansa and the International Airlines Group (IAG), which owns British Airways and Iberia, have already publicly expressed an interest in the race.
SCR/ADB // ADB.
Lusa
