Caution over Ryanair takeover bid
However, taking a step back and looking at its context, it is perhaps not surprising that Michael O’Leary should pull such a stunt.
Absolutely nothing has changed in relation to the status of the competition issues since the last bid. In fact, on Jun 15 the UK Office of Fair Trading (OFT) said it would make a formal investigation of the existing 29.8% stake in Aer Lingus currently owned by Ryanair. It was to refer Ryanair’s minority shareholding in Aer Lingus for detailed investigation by the Competition Commission under the UK’s merger control legislation. This process could result in Ryanair being ordered to dispose of its shareholding. Has this driven the move by Ryanair to launch this bid?
