Are airline groups getting cold feet over TAP acquisition or just not that bothered?
The large international airline groups looking to acquire a minority share in Portugal’s airline TAP seem to be showing caution in advancing according to the business daily Negócios.
IAG, Lufthansa and Air France-KLM have said they are still interested in the Portuguese airline, but it will all hang on the conditions stipulated in the document of terms and conditions provided by the government for the sale of up to 49% of the carrier.
The privatisation process was begun from July 10, but the government is only likely to present the terms and conditions this week after a meeting of the Council of Ministers.
Air France was the first airline to pronounce its interest by saying that it was only studying the possible acquisition now, and added that it needed to look at whether the European Commission could hamper the acquisition with too many rigid stipulations”.
The French group has already announced the acquisition of 60.5% of SAS, meaning it will bolster its position as a majority shareholder.
And it’s a similar story with Lufthansa, which at the start of this year completed the acquisition of 41% of Italy’s ITA Airways for €325 million.
As for IAG (British Airways and Iberia), its CEO, Luís Gallego, says the conglomerate is waiting for the Portuguese government to issue the document outlining the conditions for the sale.
“We’ve said before that we’re interested to see if this would be a good addition to the group,” he added.
Air Europe could throw a spanner in the works for the sale of part of TAP after Air France stated it was interested in purchasing 25% of that airline, while Lufthansa and Turkish airlines are also in the running.
So, while the three big groups are still interested, they are in no hurry and certainly won’t even consider anything seriously until they see the terms and conditions for sale the the Portuguese government is offering. In the meantime, they’ve got their hands full with other recent acquisitions.
