Lufthansa Group signs €1.025 billion deal for 44.9% of TAP

Lufthansa Group has agreed to acquire an initial 44.9% stake in TAP Air Portugal for €1.025 billion, subject to European Commission and other regulatory clearances. The group signed the agreement with the Portuguese government at Lisbon's Humberto Delgado Airport, advancing TAP's privatisation and setting out plans to develop Lisbon as Lufthansa's seventh hub (a base for connecting flights).

What could Lufthansa end up paying?

Lufthansa could raise its holding to as much as 49.9% by buying shares that TAP initially offered to its employees. Including a contractual “ticking fee” (a charge linked to elapsed time), the total purchase price could reach €1.2 billion.

The group intends to finance the investment entirely from available liquidity. It also supports TAP's eventual full privatisation, while a majority holding remains a possibility rather than a stated obligation.

Why does Lufthansa want a TAP stake?

Carsten Spohr, Chairman of the Executive Board and chief executive officer of Deutsche Lufthansa AG, set out the rationale. He said: “Our networks complement each other ideally and open up new growth opportunities for us in Portugal and in particular in South America and Brazil.”

He continued: “Together with TAP's employees, we want to continue the airline's success story, preserve its Portuguese identity and develop Lisbon into a Lufthansa Group hub.”

Lufthansa estimates potential synergies (combined cost and revenue benefits) of up to €450 million. It says most of that amount could be achieved through a minority holding. The announcement does not break down the underlying assumptions, so the figure remains a management target rather than an established saving.

Lufthansa says a majority stake would create further opportunities to accelerate TAP's growth and strengthen TAP's position within the wider airline group.

Which routes would carry the growth?

The proposed investment would strengthen Lufthansa's presence between Europe and Latin America, particularly Brazil. Lufthansa puts its current share of that market at approximately 9%. Combined with TAP, it calculates a share of around 20%, bringing the group closer to its principal competitors.

Expansion would build on TAP's connections with:

• Brazil and Portugal
• Portuguese-speaking Africa
• North America
• Porto, the Azores, Madeira and the Algarve, alongside Lisbon

What is flying now, and what remains planned?

Lufthansa Group's airlines currently operate 353 weekly flights to six Portuguese destinations, 75% more than in 2019. Portugal is therefore an operating growth market today, not merely a future proposition. The seventh hub, the possible employee-share purchase and the wider network expansion remain plans.

Lufthansa employs more than 500 skilled professionals in Portugal. A new Lufthansa Technik maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) facility in Santa Maria da Feira, near Porto, supports a target of more than 1,000 direct jobs by 2030. Construction began in June, adding to the group's existing aviation business in Portugal. TAP's investment completion requires all necessary regulatory approvals.

What does this change for passengers?

For passengers, the practical question is whether closer ownership brings more Portugal-origin and Brazil-bound capacity and better onward connections. The 353 weekly flights provide an operating base, but the proposed hub and any wider network expansion remain linked to completion of the investment.

For the parties, the next checkpoints are:

• European Commission clearance
• The allocation of employee shares
• Any acquisition taking the stake to as much as 49.9%

The €450 million synergy estimate and the 1,000-job target for 2030 remain forward-looking figures. The decisive test will be whether the approvals are secured, the employee-share option is exercised and Lisbon develops into an operating hub, rather than simply a stated ambition.