State to become TAP’s sole shareholder by the end of 2021

The Portuguese state will become the sole shareholder of TAP, after an operation to clean up losses that will take place later this year involving private shareholders, small investors and workers. The plan also involves the total application of 2,726 million euros of public money in the airline’s capital, reported the Público newspaper.

According to the European Commission document dated July 16, the Portuguese government notified Brussels on June 10 of its intention to invest €3.2 billion in the company, an amount that already includes the €1.2 billion provided to TAP last year. Of this €3.2 billion, €2.7 billion would be applied “through capital or quasi-capital measures” between this year and the next one.

The amount is divided into €1.2 billion from the loan already granted to the group in 2020, which will be converted into capital this year, an injection or government guarantee to be made in the second half of this year and that will be convertible into capital in June 2022 (if it is not soon applied), and another injection to be made in the same year. The amounts of each operation were not disclosed.