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Lufthansa to Seek 19.9% Stake in Portugal’s TAP, Corriere Says

A passenger aircraft, operated by Deutsche Lufthansa AG, on the tarmac during a strike by workers from the Verdi union at Frankfurt Airport in Frankfurt, Germany, on Thursday, March 7, 2024. Germany is experiencing a fresh wave of travel disruption after airport ground staff and train drivers separately began stoppages set to affect services into the weekend. Photographer: Alex Kraus/Bloomberg (Alex Kraus/Bloomberg)

(Bloomberg) -- Deutsche Lufthansa AG will seek an initial 19.9% stake in Portugal’s TAP SA as part of the state-owned airline’s privatization, Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera reported Sunday, citing anonymous Portuguese institutional sources.

The offer, which would keep the German airline below the minimum threshold that triggers a change of control, “should materialize no earlier than the first quarter of 2025,” and the stake could be worth €180 million ($199 million) to €200 million, Corriere said.

Neither Lufthansa nor the offices of Portugal’s prime minister and minister of infrastructure commented, the Italian daily said.

In July, Portugal’s government reaffirmed it plans to privatize TAP, adding that the terms of the sale are still to be defined.

Air France-KLM and IAG SA, the parent company of British Airways and Iberia, have also said they may be interested in TAP. The Lisbon-based airline’s biggest attraction lies in its links to Brazil, of which it’s the biggest European provider. 

©2024 Bloomberg L.P.