Air France-KLM CEO to be in Portugal this week to negotiate TAP

Air France-KLM CEO Ben Smith will be in Portugal this week as competition for the privatization of TAP intensifies, Bloomberg reports.

Smith and Olivier Mazzucchelli, the CEO of another airline in the group, Transavia France, will be among the executives accompanying French President Emmanuel Macron's visit to Portugal on Thursday and Friday, according to the company.

The airline group is willing to meet all conditions set by the Portuguese government to sell a stake in TAP, according to a source cited by Bloomberg.

The requirements include maintaining the TAP brand and keeping Lisbon as a hub, something that Air France-KLM is willing to comply with, the source said.

Air France-KLM is also interested in a minority or majority stake, the source said.

Bloomberg reported last week that the government is interested in selling a stake of at least 49% of TAP.

The government should receive two independent reports on the evaluation of TAP by mid-March, an essential step to move forward with privatization, the agency also announced this Wednesday.