American Marconi Wireless News - Air France-KLM and Lufthansa bid for Portugal's TAP airline

The Portuguese government announced last September that it was seeking a major international airline to buy most of the 49.9 percent stake that it plans to sell.

The two airline groups had both submitted non-binding offers in April and had three months to submit binding offers.

Air France-KLM said it was bidding for a 44.9 to 49.9 percent stake in the airline and pledged to "position Lisbon as its unique southern European hub".

The group stressed that the move would strengthen its position in the Americas and Africa.

Lufthansa did not say how much of a stake it hoped to acquire, but also emphasised making Lisbon a southern European hub.

"We want to strengthen Portugal's national airline as part of the Lufthansa Group and as the leading airline for the South Atlantic, with Lisbon as a strategic hub," said Lufthansa, which also owns the Swiss, Austrian and ITA carriers.

Neither group mentioned how much money they were offering for the stake in TAP.

Portuguese officials have indicated they hope to conclude the privatisation in late August or early September.

TAP, which was renationalised in 2020 to stem losses from the Covid-19 pandemic, is among the few remaining state-owned carriers in Europe.

The airline has around 7,700 employees and a fleet of around 100 Airbus planes.

burs-rl/jxb

D.Kaufman--AMWN