Government starts the process to re-privatise TAP

The Decree-Law that initiates the process to re-privatise TAP was approved in the Council of Ministers. In this process, the Government set that it intends to sell at least 51% of the company’s share capital, reserving up to 5% for its employees.

"TAP’s privatisation is justified as long as we can increase the contribution made by the company to the country’s economic growth", Fernando Medina reiterated, the Minister of Finance.

The Government’s aim with this process is to safeguard five strategic principles:

1. TAP’s growth

2. The national hub’s growth

3. Ensure investment and jobs in high value activities in the aviation sector

4. Ensure growth of end-to-end operations that enable the untapped capacity at national airports to be used, focusing on Porto airport

5. The amount offered to acquire the company shares, whereas the goal is to maximize financial allocation for the country.

As for the buyer profile, "we are very clear", said the Minister of Finance: "We want large-scale investors from the aeronautical sector, alone or in consortia headed by them, that are aligned with our strategic goals. We do not seek to attract pure investments of a financial nature that are looking to get into TAP to then sell it or sell parts of it and we wish to reiterate TAP’s strategic contribution to the country ".

The Minister of Infrastructure João Galamba underlined that "this is the right moment to start this process", referring to TAP’s "truly positive" results and the good moment experienced in the aeronautical sector, where there is great demand for consolidation processes. 

The process to pick the strategic, financial, and legal consultants that will advise the State in this operation will now start, as will the process to consult the market and dialogue with potential investors in the sector.

The goal is to present in the Council of Ministers the specs that will define "in a clearer way" the realisation and weighting of the strategic vales the Government defined as priority at the end of 2023 or, at the latest, the start of 2024, Fernando Medina added.