A consortium headed by the CEO of Brazilian airline Azul has got the green light to acquire a majority stake in struggling Portuguese carrier TAP.
David Neeleman’s Gateway Consortium will pay 354 million euros ($397 million) for a 61% percent stake.
Neeleman also founded JetBlue.
Neeleman beat off a competing bid by German Efromovich, owner of Avianca Taca Holding SA, in what was the Portuguese government’s second effort to sell the airline.
Certain conditions attached to the sale mean Neeleman could pay up to 488 million euros for the stake depending on performance and has agreed to keep Portugal as the airline’s main hub for a minimum 30 years.
Announcing the winning bid Prime Minister Pedro Passos Coelho said: "We can’t go against history, we know what happened to most European flag carriers in recent years. If this process didn’t take place it would have meant the liquidation of TAP in the medium-term."
