Lufthansa CEO meets Portuguese ministers over taking stake in TAP, sources say
Adds arrival of Lufthansa CEO and infrastructure minister at the finance ministry in paragraph 5
By Sergio Goncalves, Joanna Plucinska and Ilona Wissenbach
LISBON, Sept 2 (Reuters) -Lufthansa LHAG.DE CEO Carsten Spohr is meeting with Portugal's centre-right government on Monday to formally signal his company's interest in the privatisation of state-owned carrier TAP, according to three sources with knowledge of the matter.
One of the sources said Lufthansa is eyeing a 19.9% stake in TAP, below the 20% threshold that would require approval from the European Commission, the EU's antitrust regulator.
Portugal's government and Lufthansa both declined to comment.
The meeting between Spohr and the two officials who oversee TAP Air Portugal, Finance Minister Joaquim Miranda Sarmento and Infrastructure Minister Miguel Pinto Luz, was requested by Lufthansa, a second source said.
Spohr, accompanied by three others, entered the main door of the finance ministry shortly after 11 a.m. local time (1000 GMT), where the infrastructure minister had arrived earlier.
The meeting comes as Portugal seeks to push ahead with the privatisation of the airline, which is fully government-owned, by the end of this year, a third source said.
The source said that while the sale process is still at a very early stage, the government intends to speed it up as everything indicates that there is interest from potential buyers.
The first source said Lufthansa's view is that the government may prefer them as a buyer because they would preserve TAP's autonomy, but so far the formal process has not started.
Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera reported on Sunday that Lufthansa was interested in buying a 19.9% stake.
At least two other major industry players - British Airways owner IAG ICAG.L and Air France-KLM AIRF.PA - have already said they are interested in TAP.
In July, Portugal's infrastructure minister said that he wanted to privatise TAP sooner rather than later to take advantage of market interest in the airline.
Its most attractive assets are its key slots to Brazil, Portuguese-speaking African countries and the U.S. from its Lisbon hub.
The current government, which took over in April, has yet to define the privatisation model. The sale of at least 51% of TAP was approved by the previous centre-left administration in September 2023, but it did not have time to carry it out before a general election held earlier this year.
European airlines have said consolidation is needed to help the industry cope with soaring operating costs, but Brussels is concerned that Europe's three largest groups are becoming too dominant and has taken a negative attitude towards mergers.
British Airways owner IAG last month ditched a plan to take over Spanish rival Air Europa after refusing the European Commission's demand for more remedies to allow the deal.
TAP said last week its second-quarter net profit fell 10% to 72.2 million euros as foreign exchange losses offset an operating income increase.
($1 = 0.9041 euros)
Reporting by Sergio Goncalves, Joanna Plucinska and Ilona Wissenbach; Editing by Inti Landauro, Jan Harvey and Louise Heavens
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