Germany's Lufthansa has reaffirmed its intention to vie for a minority stake in Portugal's state carrier TAP, saying today it had formally filed its interest with the government.
In a statement, it said it had submitted a proposal to Portuguese state holding company Parpublica as suitor in the planned sale of shares, also offering a "long-term partnership".
Rivals Air France-KLM and British Airways owner IAG have also expressed interest in buying the TAP stake, and Air France-KLM said it had registered its interest with Parpublica, confirming a media report.
Portugal's government in July relaunched the long-delayed privatisation of TAP, putting a 44.9% stake up for sale to an airline that could add scale and competitiveness, with an additional 5% to be sold to TAP employees.
The government said last month it expects the planned sale of the combined 49.9% stake to proceed smoothly.
Lufthansa said its aspirations as an investor took into account TAP's "great strategic importance to the European aviation industry".
"As a long-standing partner in the Star Alliance and with our extensive investments in Portugal, we continue to see the Lufthansa Group as the best partner for TAP and for Portugal," CEO
