The Portuguese government will negotiate with the two TAP bidders, as revealed by Minister Leitão Amaro. The overall evaluation of the proposals submitted by the bidders was considered "so close" that it justified an additional negotiation "effort".
The two bidders are Lufthansa and Air France-KLM, which submitted their proposals for the purchase or strategic partnership with TAP. The evaluation process between the two is said to have been very balanced.
Minister Leitão Amaro confirmed that the negotiation process will last "weeks", without specifying an exact deadline for the conclusion of the talks between the government and the two airlines.
This decision represents a change in approach to the process, as the government chose to thoroughly explore both options before making a final decision on TAP's future.
