Portugal seals final deal with TAP's private shareholders

Record ID: 1560350

  • Title: Portugal seals final deal with TAP's private shareholders
  • Date: 2nd July 2020
  • Summary: LISBON, PORTUGAL (JULY 2, 2020) (REUTERS) (SOUNDBITE) (Portuguese) INFRASTRUCTURE MINISTER, PEDRO NUNO SANTOS, SAYING: "TAP is too important for the country, for the national economy, for the employment of the Portuguese for us to accept the risk of letting such a company fall. The damage to the country would far outweigh the effort that we will all have to make."
  • Embargoed: 17th July 2020 00:47
  • Keywords: Infrastructure Minister Pedro Nuno Santos Portuguese air carrier TAP shareholders
  • Location: LISBON, PORTUGAL
  • City: LISBON, PORTUGAL
  • Country: Portugal
  • Topics: Health/Medicine
  • Reuters ID: LVA002CL4AKW7
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: Portugal's government announced on Thursday (July 2) it sealed a final deal with private shareholders of ailing flag carrier TAP to take a controlling stake in the airline while avoiding nationalisation.
    "TAP is too important for the country for us to accept the risk of letting such a company fall," Infrastructure Minister Pedro Nuno Santos told a news conference.
    According to the government, the state will increase its stake in TAP to 72.5% from the current 50%, with Portuguese entrepreneur Humberto Pedrosa remaining a shareholder, holding 22.5% of the airline.
    TAP employees will keep the remaining 5%.
    Pedrosa and Brazilian-American aviation businessman David Neeleman previously held 45% of the airline through private consortium Atlantic Gateway. Neeleman will no longer be a shareholder, according to the government.
    Nuno Santos also said the airline's current chief executive Antonoaldo Neves will soon be replaced.
    Like other airlines, TAP asked for help in April after a collapse in demand for travel due to the coronavirus pandemic forced it to suspend almost all of its nearly 2,500 weekly flights. The European Commission approved the rescue loan earlier this month.
    To reach an agreement, the government managed to convince Brazilian airline Azul, founded and part-owned by Neeleman, to give up its right to convert a 90 million euro loan granted in 2016 into shares of TAP, a source said.
    TAP reported a first-quarter net loss of 395 million euros.
    (Production: Miguel Pereira)
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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