Lufthansa in talks for full TAP takeover as Lisbon seeks opposition support

By Sergio Goncalves and Klaus Lauer

LISBON/BERLIN, Oct 15 (Reuters) - Lufthansa is in talks to take full control of Portugal's flag carrier TAP, as the Portuguese government seeks opposition support for the sale of the state's remaining 50.1% stake for €1.351 billion ($1.52 billion).

The government on Wednesday picked Lufthansa's €1.2 billion bid for up to 49.9% of TAP, and its offer for the remaining shares, in exchange for €863 million in cash and a 5% stake in the Lufthansa Group, would complete TAP's privatisation.

Lufthansa CEO Carsten Spohr told reporters on Thursday that TAP was "an opportunity we couldn't miss", describing it as one of the very few remaining European network carriers at scale to be consolidated and "the perfect fit in terms of geographies and markets".

The airline's finance chief Till Streichert said Lufthansa submitted a non-binding proposal, which was subject to "further negotiations." "This is an attractive minority investment in its own right, with additional upside from a future move to majority ownership," he said.

Finance Minister Joaquim Miranda Sarmento told state broadcaster RTP late on Wednesday that the German airline's proposal, which the minority centre-right government supports, would benefit both the flag carrier and Portugal's economy.

According to a government presentation, the second phase of TAP's privatisation proposed by Lufthansa, which values the 5% stake at €488 million, could take place by mid-2028.

The government, which had to secure opposition backing in parliament for the minority stake sale, will need its support again for the privatisation's second phase, Sarmento said.

"We will assess the second phase, but this is an extraordinary opportunity for both the company and the country that Portugal cannot afford to miss," he said.

The opposition Socialist Party and Chega said it was premature to talk about a full privatisation.

Sarmento said the 5% stake would make Portugal the Lufthansa Group's second-largest shareholder and that Lufthansa's growth plans for TAP would bring "many more employees, much more activity, much higher revenues" and "far greater benefits" to the economy.

($1 = 0.8913 euros)

(Reporting by Sergio Goncalves and Klaus Lauer; Editing by Tomasz Janowski)