Lufthansa remains interested in investing in TAP and is one of the favourites to enter the share capital of the Portuguese company. According to Bloomberg, cited by Negócios, during the presentation of annual results, Lufthansa assumed that the most interesting targets for mergers and acquisitions are TAP and the Italian ITA, formerly Alitalia.

Lufthansa's interest in TAP dates back to 2019, when the German company's investment was almost complete. But the process was suspended due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

In addition to the German giant, Air France-KLM and the IAG group, which includes British Airways and Iberia, are also in the running to invest in the Portuguese company.

TAP has been at the centre of several controversies in recent months and the Government has been accelerating the privatisation process. In early February, the Minister of Finance made it known that he intends to bring legislation to the Council of Ministers “soon” to start the privatisation process. At the time, Fernando Medina stressed that with TAP's results, are "far above" the targets of the restructuring plan, and "this is a good time for the Government to assess and decide on the course of privatising the company".

The Government has not yet revealed whether or not the State will maintain any stake in the company's share capital. But Jornal Económico wrote that, according to a source close to the process, the possibility is on the table for the State to keep 10% to 20% of the capital to have a presence on the board of directors and the ability to intervene in matters of national interest.

Meanwhile, Lufthansa is still in negotiations with the Italian Government to invest in 40% of the share capital of ITA Airways for approximately 325 million dollars (300 million at the current exchange rate).

Lufthansa and Air France-KLM are also competing for Flybe, the British regional low-cost airline that was once led by the CEO of TAP and which went into insolvency, for the second time, at the end of January.

The Telegraph newspaper advanced in early February that these aviation groups are in talks with the management of Flybe, which in 2020 was bought by Thyme Opco, a company linked to the North American hedge fund Cyrus Capital.

According to the British newspaper, Lufthansa and Air France-KLM are interested in the seven pairs of slots (takeoff and landing times) that Flybe has at Heathrow airport. And, if any of the companies reach an agreement with Flybe, the ransom could prevent the company from being shut down and the carrier's name from disappearing from airports again.