Lufthansa in Talks to Acquire Remaining 50.1% Stake in TAP Air Portugal Following Initial Entry
Lufthansa Group is engaged in separate, preliminary discussions to potentially acquire the remaining 50.1% majority stake in TAP Air Portugal down the line, a move that would hand the German airline conglomerate full control of the Portuguese flag carrier. Having already been selected to acquire an initial stake of up to 49.9%, the transaction is shaping up to be the next major milestone in European airline consolidation.
Negotiations for Majority Control and State Shareholding
Lufthansa Chief Financial Officer Till Streichert revealed on Thursday that independent talks are underway regarding the group’s potential acquisition of the remaining 50.1% stake, which currently remains under state control.
Under the framework of these negotiations:
- Equity stake: The Portuguese government could take a stake of up to 5% in Lufthansa, the CFO explained.
- Phased structure: This mechanism would allow the Portuguese state to retain an equity presence in the parent group while the complete transfer of the national airline is finalized.
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Terms of Initial Bid Over Air France-KLM
The development follows Wednesday’s decision by the Portuguese government to select Lufthansa to acquire up to a 49.9% stake in TAP Air Portugal for 1.2 billion euros ($1.35 billion), edging out a competing offer from rival Air France-KLM.
The deal, which took years of negotiations and faced repeated delays to materialize, marks the next formal step in the consolidation of Europe’s commercial aviation sector.
Strategic Fit and EU Regulatory Outlook
Lufthansa Chief Executive Carsten Spohr told reporters that bringing the Portuguese carrier on board is “a perfect fit” for the group’s portfolio.
Lufthansa’s airline holding already encompasses major network carriers, including:
- Austrian Airlines
- SWISS
- ITA Airways (where turnaround efforts remain underway)
- Other airline subsidiaries across the European group.
On the regulatory front, Spohr noted that clearance from the European Commission should prove more straightforward than the acquisition of Italy’s ITA Airways, pointing to significantly less network overlap and route redundancy between Lufthansa’s existing hub-and-spoke system and TAP Air Portugal’s operations.
With closing targeted for the first half of 2028, further progress on the deal hinges on talks surrounding the remaining 50.1% stake and formalizing the Portuguese state’s equity holding in the German aviation group—cementing one of the most consequential airline M&A transactions in European aviation for the coming years.
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