Madrid (dpa) - The Portuguese government is stepping in to bail out TAP Air Portugal, increasing its stake in the ailing airline from 50 to 72.15 per cent, Finance Minister Joao Leao said in Lisbon late Thursday.
Like other carriers, TAP has been hard hit by a downturn in business due to the coronavirus pandemic.
TAP reached an agreement in principle with private shareholders in order to allow the airline to receive a planned rescue loan.
"This is an important agreement and a good solution for TAP," the Publico newspaper quoted Infrastructure Minister Pedro Nuno Santos as saying.
The Atlantic Gateway Group's share has been reduced from 45 to 22.5 per cent, according to media reports.
The government will pay 55 million euros (62 million dollars) for this, the finance minister said. Five per cent of the share capital continues to be held by airline employees.
The socialist government had previously threatened to nationalize the airline if no agreement could be reached with private investors, and considered filing for bankruptcy.
Santos recently warned that Portugal could not afford the luxury of losing the company, as 60 per cent of tourists travel to Portugal via TAP Air flights.
———
©2020 Deutsche Presse-Agentur GmbH (Hamburg, Germany)
Visit Deutsche Presse-Agentur GmbH (Hamburg, Germany) at www.dpa.de/English.82.0.html
Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
