At the meeting, the directors of the Franco-Dutch group will convey that they are comfortable with the purchase of a minority position in the Portuguese company, according to a report by ECO.
Even if Luís Montenegro's desire was to privatise TAP's entire capital, the current parliamentary geometry prevents this from happening. Even if the privatisation decree-law provided for this possibility, the parties would ask for parliamentary approval, making the alienation of the majority of the capital unfeasible, since only PSD and IL defend it. A context to which Air France – KLM is attentive.
“Taking into account that several scenarios are being considered for the approval, at a later stage, of the privatization of TAP in Parliament, Air France – KLM remains open to several options and is also comfortable with the sale of a minority stake in the company,” the source tells ECO.
The group will use its own situation as an argument, which “evidences the ability to work in partnership” with governments. The French State maintains a 28% stake in the capital of Air France – KLM and the Dutch 9.1%. The group joined SAS in August, taking a minority stake of 19.9%, with the Danish State maintaining 25.8%.
Air France – KLM is not the only one to point to a minority of capital. Corriere della Sera reported at the beginning of September that Lufthansa was targeting 19.9% of TAP's capital, a percentage that would also facilitate approval of the deal by regulators, namely the European Union.
The Government is listening to the main parties interested in the privatization of the airline, having already met with Lufthansa and IAG, owners of British Airways and Iberia, as revealed by the Minister of Finance.
No government should own any stake in a national airline, it's Marxism. It would blunt competition and subject the airline to political control. Pity that AD doesn't have a majority in parliament to push through full scale privatisation of TAP. Otherwise, they can continue selling chunks of TAP's capital to third parties, as foreign airlines appear to be interested.
By Billy Bissett from Porto on 28 Oct 2024, 10:46
Well, I like to fly TAP to and from Portugal, but at times I have also flown KLM. If Air France - KLM comes in as owners and apply their non-existent customer service to TAP, it looks like I'll be flying Lufthansa from now on!
By Jon Sigurd Smith Johnsen from Lisbon on 28 Oct 2024, 11:17