Lufthansa, the big German airline group, will buy part of TAP Air Portugal. The Portuguese government announced the news on Wednesday 14 October. TAP is the main airline of Portugal, and it is based in Lisbon.
Read on to find out how much Lufthansa will pay and what must happen next.
Lufthansa will buy a 44.9% stake in TAP. A stake is a share of a company. This share is almost half of TAP. The price is about 1.2 billion euros.
Lufthansa first showed interest in TAP in 2025. It already owns several other airlines in Europe, such as Swiss and Austrian Airlines. Now it will have a big partner in Portugal too.
Two big airline groups wanted to buy a stake. Lufthansa and Air France-KLM both made offers. Lufthansa won. The Portuguese Prime Minister, Luís Montenegro, said Air France-KLM was the only other company in the race.
The Portuguese government will still own the largest share of TAP. It will also keep 5% for the people who work for the airline. More than 9,000 workers will be able to buy shares.
The deal is not finished yet. Regulators in the European Union must say yes first. Regulators are the officials who make and check the rules. They look at big deals like this one. They want passengers to keep a good choice of flights and fair prices.
The government may sell the rest of TAP by 2028. This plan is called privatisation. Portugal has tried to sell part of TAP before. Those sales did not work, and the state took the airline back.
Lufthansa wants a long partnership with TAP. It also wants Lisbon to be a hub in the south of Europe. A hub is an airport where many flights meet, so passengers can change planes. Lisbon is a good place for this. TAP flies from Europe to Africa and to the Americas, and many passengers change planes in the city.
For now, the next step is the decision from the European Union.
Check your understanding
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How much of TAP will Lufthansa buy?
The article says Lufthansa will buy 44.9% of TAP, which is almost half of the company.
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True or false: Lufthansa can own the share now, with no more checks.
The deal is not finished. The article says regulators in the European Union must say yes first.
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Who will still own the biggest share of TAP after the sale?
The article says the Portuguese government will still own the largest share, even after Lufthansa buys 44.9%.
- stake (noun) – a share of a company that a person or company owns. Typical use: “Lufthansa will buy a 44.9% stake in TAP.”
- regulator (noun) – an official who makes and checks the rules for an industry. Typical use: “Regulators in the European Union must say yes first.”
- privatisation (noun) – selling a company that the state owns. Typical use: “This plan is called privatisation.”
- hub (noun) – an airport where many flights meet, so passengers can change planes. Typical use: “It also wants Lisbon to be a hub in the south of Europe.”
Another European airline made a big change this year. You can read about it in Norwegian Air Shuttle Wins Court Approval to Exit Long-Haul.
