Aer Lingus takeover: IAG boss expects Ryanair not to stand in way of deal
|
Version 0 of 1. Willie Walsh has told Ryanair that he expects the carrier to act rationally over International Airlines Group’s planned €1.4bn (£990m) takeover of Aer Lingus. The chief executive of IAG, the parent of British Airways and Iberia, is close to securing control of Aer Lingus after the Irish government agreed to sell its own shareholding in the former flag carrier to the group. However, Ryanair remains a potential barrier to the takeover through its near 30% stake in Aer Lingus. Walsh said on Wednesday that IAG would make a formal offer within the next 28 days for Ryanair’s shareholding and he did not expect the low-cost airline to stand in the way of a deal. “I expect Ryanair to behave in a rational way, they are a well-run business with proper corporate governance in place,” he said. IAG is offering Aer Lingus shareholders €2.55 in cash per share, under the proposed deal backed by the airliner’s management but disputed by trade unions and opposition parties in Ireland. Ryanair, which has been ordered to sell down its Aer Lingus stake by the UK competition authority, said: “Our position has not changed. The board of Ryanair has yet to receive any offer, and will consider any offer on its merits, if and when an offer is made.” Speaking in Dublin on Wednesday after the Irish government gave the go-ahead for the sale of its 25% stake in Aer Lingus, the IAG boss also vowed that the Irish carrier’s Heathrow-to-Ireland slots were not under threat. Walsh’s assurances in the Irish Republic’s capital did nothing to temper stormy scenes in the Dáil, where opposition politicians accused the Fine Gael-Labour coalition of seeking to “ram through” the sale without consulting parliament. Walsh, a Dublin-born former chief executive of Aer Lingus, insisted that the airline would still be Irish-managed and run from Dublin. “Aer Lingus would maintain control of its brand and operation while gaining strength as part of a profitable and sustainable airline group in an industry that’s consolidating,” Walsh said. “As an Irishman I’m very proud … but this is not a Willie Walsh initiative; it is an IAG one,” he added. He pointed out that the Dublin-Heathrow route was the second busiest intercity airlink in the world and that was why the Aer Lingus slots in London would remain. However, Walsh would not name the four extra transatlantic routes IAG was reported to have planned for Aer Lingus if the takeover completed. Walsh and IAG have said that Aer Lingus would also continue routes between Heathrow and Cork and Shannon for the next seven years, as well as retaining its distinct Irish corporate brand. However, there was anger in the Dáil on Wednesday morning with accusations that the coalition had presented the parliament with a done deal before the chamber was consulted. Fianna Fáil leader Micheal Martin accused the government of treating the opposition with “contempt” after it cancelled the ordinary Dáil business to pave the way for the Aer Lingus debate. “The manner in which the government is treating the House is bringing the House into disrepute,” he said. But Ireland’s transport minister, Paschal Donohoe, said the takeover would guarantee Aer Lingus’s future and increase its connections to key routes around the world. |