Azul Brazilian airlines is not a European entity; and therefore it cannot own more than 49% of any European airline.
TAP has not been sold to Azul. It has been sold to an investor group called Gateway, of whom the lead investor is David Neeleman.
SÃO PAULO—The Portuguese government said Thursday it decided to sell control of its national carrier, TAP Air Portugal, to an investor group led by David Neeleman, the founder of Brazil’s third-largest airline.
Mr. Neeleman started Azul Linhas Aereas Brasileiras SA and founded U.S. airline JetBlue. He and Latin American tycoon German Efromovich, owner of Avianca Taca Holding SA, had bid for 61% of the Portuguese company.
The winning group, known as Gateway, will pay a minimum of €354 million ($398 million) and a maximum of €488 million for control of TAP, and will also provide 53 additional planes for TAP, according to Portuguese officials.
Brazilian-American businessman Mr. Neeleman has said he plans to keep the carrier separate from Azul for legal reasons, but will create an alliance to allow the companies to work together.
Mr. Neeleman´s group agreed to keep TAP based in Portugal for at least 10 years and to maintain the country as the airline’s main hub for a minimum of 30 years, Mr. Monteiro said.