Outside the country, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa admits that the strategic value of the company, such as the hub, is much more important than the sale value and promises to approve the diploma.
Visiting Sao Tome and Principe, to celebrate the 50th anniversary of independence, the President of the Republic speaks for the first time since the government announced . He says he was previously informed by the Prime Minister and that Luis Montenegro introduced him to his plan even before submitting him to the Council of Ministers. Marcelo promises to promulgate the diploma.
“First, it safeguards the position of workers and, secondly, safeguard the prevalence of Portugal and the Portuguese State, because the foreign part is minority, either or two or three candidates, those who are,” the President of the Republic told reporters.
Like the government, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa also does not want to share possible values for TAP. The same strategy as the executive follows: keep the company’s evaluation secret, because, according to the president, TAP is worth more than a mere accounting value.
The Portuguese air carrier’s strategic hub has given a lot to speak and is considered the main requirement for sale.
Privatizations around the world
The history of privatization in Europe differs from country to country. NThe case of Germany, Lufthansa followed a phased privatization model, but was previously the target of deep restructuring. The German state only interfered with the company in 2020, following the pandemic. It saved it from bankruptcy in exchange for a 20%stake, which has already been sold, and has always moved away from the company’s management in the long run.
Air France, on the other hand, maintained the French state as a minority shareholder. This served to influence important times, such as merging with KLM, or access to public coffers in France, as happened in the pandemic.
The two airlines have already returned to their respective states all the money they received in the tragic years of And they are two of those interested in TAP.
Alitalia even ruined after the pandemic. It had been rescued by the state successive times and has been the target of several attempts to privatize, but the Italian state let the company go bankrupt. Created another, smaller, in 2021: Ita Airways. It was later bought by Lufthansa, which holds 41% of the company.
The privatization of TAP will depend on the values involved of those who buy and the parasocial agreement that will define the terms of private management. But It is almost certain that the 3.2 billion euros that the state has unlikely to be recovered.
