by Sergio Goncalves

LISBON (Reuters) – The Portuguese government has appointed state-owned holding company Parpublica to choose two independent experts to assess the airline TAP ahead of its privatization, which could start in July, Finance Minister Fernando Medina said on Thursday.

The state owns 100% of TAP, which is currently restructuring under a €3.2 billion bailout approved by Brussels, and the government is considering a full or partial sale.

“These two independent assessments are mandatory before launching the privatization. We hope to be able to approve the privatization before the summer, around July,” Fernando Medina told the press.

He said the government was looking to preserve the “intrinsic value of TAP, as a business that generates value from its hub in Lisbon”, also pointing out that the airline returned to profit in 2022, earlier than expected in its restructuring plan.

Reuters reported two weeks ago that Lufthansa, Air France-KLM and British Airways owner IAG were laying the groundwork for potential deals on TAP, surveying local communications agencies and legal advisers.

“The various expressions of interest are known. We expect them to materialize in large numbers when we get to the proposal submission phase,” said Fernando Medina.

He specified that the final value of TAP would depend on the synergies that each candidate could achieve with the Portuguese airline.

Infrastructure Minister Joao Galamba said that “the Lisbon hub is already and will be in the future a hub for the production and distribution of synthetic fuels for aviation”, calling it a great opportunity for TAP and probable factor of its valuation.

(Report Sergio Goncalves, Augustin Turpin)

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