TAP - Comments

Turkish Airlines denied that it has made any attempt at buying an international airline at this juncture. Portuguese newspaper Negocios had run an article according to which Turkish Airlines is considering buying a stake in TAP. The carrier has not made a formal offer but has allegedly outlined terms close to €1.9bn Euros for a majority stake, something we are not sure the Portuguese government will entertain without at least some negative control. So the approach has perhaps been preliminary and diplomatic channels have to determine further. In any event, this approach (if it happened) validates our view of the situation and could lead to the kind of confirmation the EC has been looking for to validate the restructuring plan.