O’Brien sells off Aer Lingus stake

Aer Lingus’s share price jumped nearly 5% yesterday after more than 20m of its shares changed hands — including, it is believed, the bulk of media mogul Denis O’Brien’s remaining holding in the company.

Earlier this month, Mr O’Brien — who first bought into Aer Lingus in late 2006 and built up an initial 1.6% stake to nearly 4% — sold €4.7m worth of shares, cutting his holding to 2.4%, or just under 13m shares.

Yesterday’s dealings saw around 21m Aer Lingus shares traded — including a block of 12m units; which led to widespread belief among commentators that Mr O’Brien had disposed of the majority of his remaining interest.