Ryanair ready to sell stake in rival

Ryanair says it is prepared to sell its stake in rival Aer Lingus in a bid to appease a British anti-competition probe, a move analysts said was an apparent gambit to avoid a forced selldown.

Europe’s biggest budget airline said it would unconditionally sell its 29% shareholding to an EU airline that makes an offer to buy out Aer Lingus.

It described the move as a remedy to appease the UK Competition Commission, which said in June the stake could obstruct Aer Lingus from merging to stay competitive.