Lisbon, April 13, 2026 (Lusa) - TAP Air Portugal has sold its 51% stake in Cateringpor to the Swiss catering group Gate Gourmet, the airline’s partner and the sole bidder in the sale, the Portuguese carrier announced on Monday.

The airline confirmed in a statement that "the sale was awarded to the Swiss group Gate Gourmet, following legal procedures, and formalised this Monday, 13 April".

TAP SA launched a public tender on 30 December 2025 to sell an indivisible lot of 357,000 shares in Cateringpor. Each share had a nominal value of €5, representing 51% of the company's share capital, with a base price of €9.57 million. The tender defined the contractual conditions for Cateringpor to continue providing catering services after the sale.

Divesting the Cateringpor stake was a commitment under the TAP restructuring plan approved by the European Commission in 2021. Consequently, the company's holdings in catering, handling (SPdH, formerly Groundforce), and the real estate assets known as the "TAP stronghold" remained outside the scope of the ongoing privatisation process.

TAP's Chief Executive said in late February that receiving a single bid for Cateringpor was expected, saying that the partner shareholder held a right of first refusal.

"We would be very surprised if there were more than one proposal, because the one we received is from our partner shareholder, who has the right of preference over all others," Luís Rodrigues told journalists at the time. He was speaking on the sidelines of the 2026 strategic plan presentation at the Lisbon Tourism Fair.

"Therefore, what we expected happened, and it is a perfectly natural process," he said.

PD/RYOL // AYLS

Lusa