On June 11, 2015, the Portuguese Government announced that a consortium made up of DGN Corporation and Barraqueiro, (together the Gateway Consortium), has been selected as the purchaser of a 61% stake in TAP - Transportes Aéreos Portugueses (TAP) from Parpública, as part of TAP privatization. An additional 5% stake is being sold to TAP employees. The total consideration from Gateway Consortium for TAP is €348 million, comprising €10 million purchase price and a €338 million cash injection, implying an adjusted firm value of approximately €1.7 billion. As part of the transaction, it was also announced an option for the remaining shares for a consideration of up to €140 million.
TAP is the Portuguese flag-carrier airline, founded in 1945 and a member of the Star Alliance. Its Lisbon hub is a key European gateway at the crossroads of Africa and South America and it is the number one airline between Europe and Brazil. The airline has connections to circa 84 destinations in 35 countries, operates an average of 2,500 flights a week, has a fleet of 77 aircraft and in 2014 flew 11.4 million passengers.
DGN Corporation is the holding company for David Neeleman, the aviation entrepreneur who has created and launched four independent airlines in three different countries (Morris Air (U.S.), WestJet (Canada), JetBlue (U.S.) and Azul (Brazil)). Barraqueiro is the largest private passenger transport operator in Portugal, with activities in road transport, rail transport, freight, transportation of hazardous material and logistics.
Citi acted as sole financial advisor to Parpública.
