Lufthansa signs EUR 1.025bn deal for 44.9% of TAP Air Portugal, making Lisbon its seventh hub
The German airline group and the Portuguese government formalised the partial privatisation of TAP in Lisbon. Completion depends on Brussels, and Portugal expects it by early 2028.
Lufthansa Group and the Portuguese government signed the agreement on 3 November 2026 for Lufthansa to acquire an initial minority stake of 44.9% in TAP Air Portugal. The agreed purchase price is EUR 1.025 billion, financed entirely from Lufthansa's available liquidity.
The stake could rise to up to 49.9% if Lufthansa acquires shares initially offered to TAP employees. Including a so-called ticking fee, the total price could reach up to EUR 1.2 billion, according to the company. Completion remains subject to regulatory approvals, in particular from the European Commission.
What was signed in Lisbon
The signing took place at the TAP campus next to Lisbon's Humberto Delgado Airport. Euronews reported that Prime Minister Luís Montenegro, Finance Minister Joaquim Miranda Sarmento and Lufthansa chief executive Carsten Spohr attended the ceremony, and that Spohr said TAP will continue to be a Portuguese airline.
Lufthansa described the signing as a decisive milestone in the privatisation of TAP. In the company statement, Spohr said the two networks complement each other and open new growth opportunities in Portugal, and in particular in South America and Brazil. He said Lufthansa wants to preserve TAP's Portuguese identity and develop Lisbon into a Lufthansa Group hub.
The contract formalises terms first set out in October. According to an earlier Reuters report, Portugal chose Lufthansa on 14 October after the German group and Air France-KLM submitted improved final bids in late September.
The numbers behind the deal
Lufthansa said a minority stake already enables most of the synergies, which it estimates at up to EUR 450 million. The group added that it expressly welcomes the prospect of a full privatisation of TAP, arguing that a majority stake would offer additional opportunities to accelerate growth.
Latin America is central to the plan. Lufthansa said its current market share in traffic between Europe and Latin America is about 9%. Together with TAP, the combined calculated share would be about 20%, which the company said would bring it in line with its key competitors. Lisbon is set to become the group's seventh hub, while Porto, the Azores, Madeira and the Algarve are also part of the growth strategy.
Lufthansa's existing footprint in Portugal
The group's airlines currently offer 353 weekly flights to six destinations in Portugal, 75% more than in 2019. More than 500 people work for Lufthansa Group companies in the country, and the company expects that number to exceed 1,000 direct jobs by 2030 with the new Lufthansa Technik site in Santa Maria da Feira near Porto, where ground was broken in June.
Governance and conditions
For now, the Portuguese state keeps a majority of the capital. Air Data News reported that the government will retain five of the nine seats on TAP's board, including the chair, while Lufthansa will appoint three executives, including the chief executive. Decisions on strategy, fleet and high-value operations will require agreement between the two shareholders, and decisions on the Lisbon hub, brand and headquarters are reserved to the shareholders' meeting.
The same report said Lufthansa may not sell its TAP shares for five years, after which Portugal would have a right of first refusal. Lufthansa would in turn have a right of first refusal if Portugal sells its remaining stake. Any remedies demanded by competition authorities fall on Lufthansa, and the contract lets Lufthansa walk away if those remedies undermine the economic rationale of the deal.
German news agency dpa-AFX, as carried by Investing.com, also reported the signing and noted that up to 5% of the shares are initially reserved for TAP employees.
What it means for European founders and investors
European aviation is consolidating around three large groups. TAP was one of the last independent flag carriers, and Air France-KLM had earlier won a majority of Scandinavian airline SAS, according to dpa-AFX. Fewer, larger airline groups change the buying landscape for startups selling software, data, sustainable aviation fuel and travel services: decisions increasingly sit at group level, and integration projects tend to create demand for tools that harmonise networks, loyalty and operations.
For Portugal's startup scene, which has grown strongly around Lisbon, a seventh Lufthansa hub could mean more direct long-haul connections, especially to Brazil and North America. Founders and investors who rely on those routes should still expect a long wait: Euronews reported that the government expects European approval in the first half of 2028, and that TAP will be managed independently until then. For other recent European transport deals, see our coverage of Stena's deal for Color Line, the recommended offer for Mobico and Ryanair's half-year results.
What happens next
The European Commission is expected to examine competition between the two groups route by route. Until approval, Lufthansa can monitor TAP under the agreement, but integration can only begin after the transaction closes.
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