Portugal appears ready to hand Lufthansa Group a 44.9% stake in TAP Air Portugal, according to Portuguese broadcaster SIC, beating out a rival bid from Air France-KLM. No official decision has been announced yet — the government was expected to pick a winner at an extraordinary cabinet meeting — and even once a buyer is chosen, contracts and a competition review would still stand between selection and a finished deal.
The two bids differed in structure. Reuters reports Lufthansa offered pure cash, while Air France-KLM mixed cash with shares, and SIC flagged Lufthansa's stronger balance sheet as a deciding factor. The sale framework itself is layered: 44.9% goes to a strategic investor, up to 5% is reserved for employees, and the Portuguese state keeps majority control.
Money isn't the only thing Portugal is weighing. The government has said it wants fleet investment, better connectivity, growth at Portuguese airports, and development of TAP's maintenance and engineering operations — plus a partner that keeps TAP serving Portugal, its islands, and Portuguese-speaking countries. Both bidders were invited to sharpen their offers after the government judged them closely matched.
For Lufthansa, the logic is geographic. Its group already spans SWISS, Austrian, Brussels Airlines and ITA Airways, mostly concentrated in central and southern Europe. TAP adds a Lisbon hub with a network reaching Brazil, North America and Portuguese-speaking Africa — a genuine South Atlantic gateway rather than a duplicate. The two carriers are already Star Alliance partners, and speculation is that a deal would eventually bring joint ventures and fold TAP's loyalty programme into Miles & More.
That last point matters if you fly TAP. The airline is currently one of the better options for reasonably priced one-way fares between North America and Europe, and the fear among commentators is that Lufthansa — keen to push yields up on its core routes — could chip away at that. There's also a governance question: Portugal keeps majority ownership, so the shareholder agreement will decide how much real influence Lufthansa has. That dynamic proved awkward in Italy with ITA Airways, and it could repeat here.
Whether you should care depends on how you fly. A well-funded TAP could become more dependable and better connected, with smoother Star Alliance transfers through Lisbon. But reduced competition on transatlantic routes rarely works in passengers' favour. Watch the final deal terms before booking long-term — for now, TAP's network and fares are unchanged.
