The Government extended by the end of the year the deadline for the completion of the privatisation of TAP to allow three weeks of final negotiations with Air France-KLM and Lufthansa and the submission of their improved binding proposals.
© Lusa
06/09/2026
by
Lusa
Nthe terms of the resolution of the Council of Ministers No 176-A/2026 of 04 September, the executive decided to “promote [...] the duration of the direct reference sale process until 31 December 2026, in order to allow the conclusion of the negotiation stage and the submission of final and improved binding proposals, [...] as well as the preparation of the report [...], the selection of the proposal and the approval of the minutes of the contractual instruments [...], their acceptance by the successful tenderer and the decision of any complaints [...], and the conclusion of the contractual instruments”.
On Friday, the Minister of the Presidency, Leitão Amaro, announced that the government will start final negotiations with the two candidates who have delivered binding offers for the purchase of 44.9% of TAP, the French-Dutch Air France-KLM and the German Lufthansa.
The minister said that offers, being different, have a “very close overall assessment”, which justifies “the negotiation effort” with both competitors, with the aim of obtaining “improved proposals” so that the government can choose “one competitor for the very final negotiation”.
He said that the proposals are “overall so close that the best for national interest is to have an additional, final phase of negotiations with both candidates”, with this final negotiation period with the two competitors lasting “a few weeks”.
The Council of Ministers resolution, which has been published in the meantime, states that the negotiation stage for the purpose of submitting final and improved binding proposals will be “three weeks’ duration”.
According to Parública, each of the competitors will be invited to join the final negotiation stage, specifying “the terms and conditions under which it takes place, as well as the content and terms of the submission of final and improved proposals”.
It also states that it will be up to the members of the Government responsible for the areas of finance and infrastructure to “adjust, during the negotiation stage, the deadline for submitting final and improved binding proposals”, and to extend the deadline for the submission of the Parública report by detailing the improved proposals received.
TAP’s privatisation process provides for the sale of up to 49.9% of TAP’s capital, of which 5% are reserved for employees, and the non-subscribed portion may be acquired by the selected investor under a preferential right.
Air France-KLM and Lufthansa delivered binding proposals on 29 July on the last day of the deadline in the process of privatisation of TAP.
The final proposals include the financial and strategic terms for entry into the airline's capital, and the planned investment, fleet development, investment in areas such as maintenance and sustainable fuels and respect for labour commitments are also assessed.
From the outset, the procedure provided for an optional phase of negotiations to improve proposals before the investor was chosen.
The final decision will also involve a number of formal steps, including the adoption in the Council of Ministers and the obtaining of ‘green light’ from the European competition authorities.