With the deadline for submissions having expired on Friday, May 15, the Portuguese government says it has received firm offers from three distinct entities interested in acquiring a majority 61% stake in national carrier TAP Portugal (TP, Lisbon).

Though Secretary of Transport Sergio Monteiro did not officially reveal the names of the parties involved, Portuguese newspaper Diario Economico confirmed them to be: DGN, a holding firm backed by investment funds as well as David Neeleman, the founder and CEO of Brazilian carrier Azul Linhas Aéreas Brasileiras (AD, Campinas Viracopos); German Efromovich, owner of South America’s Avianca Holdings SA, and the head of local firm Quifel Holdings, Portuguese entrepreneur Miguel Pais do Amaral.

Lisbon will, in the following weeks, scrutinize each bid in concert with TAP's management, Parpública (the company that manages the state's stake in TAP on behalf of the Portuguese taxpayer) and the monitoring committee responsible for the airline's privatization before making its final decision.

All things considered, a winner should be decided by the end of June following which all necessary regulatory authorizations will be sought prior to the transfer of shares.

Government hopes to have the process completed in time for this autumn's parliamentary elections as Antonio Costa, the leader of Portugal's Socialist Party, has warned he would reverse the airline's privatization should he be elected to power.

Pending the deal's finalization, a clause in the contract gives government the power to suspend the sale should it be found to violate the public interest.