IPO to net Ryan family millions

THE family of late Ryanair co-founder and aviation entrepreneur Tony Ryan is set to make tens of millions of euro as its share in Asian low-fares airline, Tiger Airways, is diluted after the company’s planned partial flotation later this month.

Tiger – headquartered in Singapore – is planning to list 30% of its share capital in order to raise extra capital to fund the expansion of its fleet and pay off debt and formally began its investor roadshow yesterday.

The Ryan family – led by Mr Ryan, who died in 2007 – invested in Tiger in 2003, a year before its first commercial flight. Currently, the family’s interests in the airline – via the RyanAsia holding company – amount to a 16% stake. This stake among others – Singapore Airlines is another major shareholder in the company with a 49% stake – are likely to be diluted post-float.