Dublin, Jan. 14, 2025 (Lusa) - The IAG airline group has expressed its interest to the Portuguese government in a majority stake in TAP over time, should it go ahead with the purchase, a decision that will depend on the conditions imposed by the state.
"Over time, we would like to have a path towards a majority [position] because it would give the business the possibility to grow without the investment of other shareholders," said IAG director Jonathan Sullivan at a meeting with Portuguese journalists in Dublin, Ireland.
He added that this interest in a majority position in TAP has been expressed to the Portuguese government and that the group is now waiting to find out the conditions for the deal. "We don't know if we'll participate, it depends on the conditions," Jonathan Sullivan told reporters.
The government recently met with those interested in buying the Portuguese airline as part of the reprivatisation process prepared by the previous Socialist government, which wanted to complete it by 2024 but was put on hold following the recent elections.
In addition to IAG, the European groups Lufthansa and Air France-KLM have publicly expressed an interest in the deal.
Miguel Pinto Luz, minister for infrastructures, said in an interview with Público that the reprivatisation would speed up after the state budget was approved at the end of November, adding that there is consensus on privatisation but not on the percentage to be sold.
The IAG director pointed out that the TAP deal is interesting for "many reasons", such as the hub, which he considered "a tremendous asset", connectivity with Latin America and North America, which would be "a good complement" to the operations of the companies that make up the IAG group, such as Aer Lingus.
The Irish flag carrier was bought by IAG in 2015, which raised some concerns on the part of the government, which kept a stake and imposed conditions such as maintaining the brand, the hub in Dublin and connectivity with London Heathrow.
"[The Portuguese government] is very similar to the Irish government, and we encourage that because it's been good for the population, it's good that the government is involved with strategic interests, as the Irish government has been," pointed out the IAG official.
"[If we buy,] we want TAP to remain proudly Portuguese," he emphasised.
Asked about concerns regarding the end of TAP's Lisbon hub due to its proximity to Iberia's Madrid hub, another of the aviation group's companies, Sullivan said that the group's interest, if it goes ahead with the purchase, is to develop both hubs.
"Having hubs that are close in some way is very positive, [...] because passengers benefit," he said, pointing out that Dublin is closer to London than Lisbon is to Madrid, just as Barcelona and Madrid are closer than Lisbon and Madrid.
As for the differences compared to its potential competitors in the business, Jonathan Sullivan considered that IAG's advantage is that its airlines plan their operations completely independently of each other since the decision-making process is decentralised, only "going up" to the group when major investments are involved, such as the purchase of aircraft, for example.
Asked about the constraints at Lisbon airport, he downplayed them: "Heathrow has been constrained for years and British Airways has found a way to grow, we can find ways to grow even at an airport that is full, we are confident that TAP, even in Lisbon, can find a way to grow."
The IAG group has eight airlines, including British Airways, Ibéria, Vueling and Aer Lingus.
MPE/ADB // ADB.
Lusa
