Ryanair to raise €400m in share sale to fund post-Covid expansion plans

Airline said the equity raise would begin immediately via an accelerated bookbuild

Ryanair Chief Executive Officer Michael O'Leary intends to participate in the placing.

Ryanair has launched a share placement, aiming to raise €400m to help it take advantage of lower costs following the Covid-19 pandemic to expand its fleet and other initiatives.

The airline said the equity raise, via a “non-pre-emptive placing of new ordinary shares ... to institutional investors and certain others” would begin immediately via an accelerated bookbuild.

Certain directors and members of the senior management team intend to participate in the placing including group chief executive Michael O’Leary, who intends to subscribe broadly pro rata to his current shareholding.

While the Covid-19 pandemic has hammered air travel, the airline said that it was also likely to “create opportunities for Ryanair to grow its network, and expand its fleet, to take advantage of lower airport and aircraft cost opportunities that are likely to arise”.

Ryanair flew just under half as many passengers in August than in the same month last year, but it has one of the strongest balance sheets in the industry with over €3.9bn in cash as of June 30 and unencumbered Boeing 737 jets worth about €7bn.

“The placing is expected to help better position the group to move quickly to capitalise on such opportunities should they arise ... (and) should significantly de-risk the group’s debt repayments over the next 12 months,” the airline’s statement said.

Rival airline group IAG, which owns Aer Lingus and British Airways, in July announced plans to raise €2.75bn from shareholders.

Stockbroker Davy is the sole bookrunner on the Ryanair placement.

Meanwhile, Ryanair has called for the immediate inclusion of the UK and Germany to Ireland’s green list of safe travel destinations. It has also criticised the Government for not implementing recommendations from its aviation tax force.

Reuters