The Portuguese Government should not sell, at least for now, all of TAP’s capital, says the airline’s president in statements to the Financial Times. The risk of selling 100% of the capital now, he says luis rodriguesis that “other actors emerge with a different agenda” than that envisioned by the Government, particularly with regard to the maintenance of the center in Lisbon and service to the autonomous regions of Madeira and Azores.
In an interview with the British financial newspaper, Luís Rodrigues admits that “One day we may be ready to sell 100% of the equity, but it would be best to take this process step by step.“. The manager’s “recommendation” is that, even if part of TAP’s capital is sold, The State must “maintain participation, to ensure that it is part of the entire development process”from the TAP business. “It’s just to ensure that if the actors change, no one emerges with a different agenda.“Luis Rodrigues warned.
Luís Montenegro, Prime Minister, stated during the campaign that a possible sale contract (100%) of TAP should include guarantees to protect national strategic interests. On the contrary, the previous government admitted selling more than 50% but always maintaining a public stake in the company. For Luís Rodrigues, this would be the best option at this time, especially taking into account the importance of tourism for the Portuguese economy.
The manager, cited by the Financial Times, also He recommended that the partial sale process be open to investors not linked to the aviation sector., as this would help alleviate the fears of competition authorities in Brussels, where there are fears that the aviation market in Europe is almost completely dominated by a small group of companies. Luís Rodrigues stated, however, that there will still be “a little more consolidation” in this sector, in Europe.
“If we design a sales process that is not 100% [do capital da TAP] – and that it will not necessarily be sold to a single group, but to several companies and other financial entities and Private capitalor national capitals, which are always politically advantageous – This can make the process easier and smoother.“argues the manager.
Luís Rodrigues’ expectation is that it will be possible to complete the process of selling TAP’s capital at the end of 2025. “I would love to see this entire process completed by the end of 2025.“, he states, acknowledging that “It won’t be easy, but if everything goes well, it is possible.“.
Source: Observadora
