The government cannot agree with private shareholders on their contribution to saving Tap. The national airline may now be nationalized.
At the beginning of the year there was speculation that the private shareholder had lost interest in Tap. Jetblue, Azul and Breeze founder David Neeleman and the Portuguese entrepreneur Humberto Pedrosa wanted to sell their 45 percent stake in the Portuguese national airline, which they owned through the Atlantic Gateway company. Lufthansa and United Airlines would be available as buyers.
The plans were voided by the Corona crisis. Tap, which was already in the red before the lockdown, has been hit harder since then. The Portuguese government therefore wants to help the airline with an emergency loan of up to 1.2 billion euros. In return, however, it also asked the private shareholders to make a contribution.
Private shareholders should forego balances
How big it should be could not be agreed. The last talks failed on Monday (June 29), the Expresso newspaper writes. The government is therefore planning to nationalize the airline. A corresponding decree has already been drawn up.
Infrastructure Minister Pedro Nuno Santos confirmed the intention at a parliamentary session on Tuesday. “If private individuals do not accept our terms, we have to intervene with nationalization,” he said, according to the Expresso. They will not give in and “we are ready to intervene and save the company”.
Semi-private since 2016
The state apparently demanded that private shareholders waive 227 million euros that Tap owes them for services rendered. He later reduced the amount. But an agreement was never reached.
As a compromise, there is still room for the state to simply buy out Neeleman. He is said to have been the one who should have resisted the last offer. Pedrosa would then remain on board – albeit with a small share. Tap was first privatized in 2015, but a year later the state bought back 50 percent of the shares.
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