This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-33474600
The article has changed 3 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 0 | Version 1 |
|---|---|
| Ryanair will sell Aer Lingus stake to IAG | Ryanair will sell Aer Lingus stake to IAG |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Ryanair board members have accepted International Airlines Group's (IAG) offer for its 29.8% of in Aer Lingus. | Ryanair board members have accepted International Airlines Group's (IAG) offer for its 29.8% of in Aer Lingus. |
| The formal acceptance paves the way for the €1.3bn (£940m) bid by BA and Iberia owner IAG for Aer Lingus to go ahead. | The formal acceptance paves the way for the €1.3bn (£940m) bid by BA and Iberia owner IAG for Aer Lingus to go ahead. |
| It is subject to backing by competition authorities. | It is subject to backing by competition authorities. |
| European Union approval is now the last remaining hurdle to the tie-up. | European Union approval is now the last remaining hurdle to the tie-up. |
| IAG's plans include building a new transatlantic hub at Dublin airport. | IAG's plans include building a new transatlantic hub at Dublin airport. |
| Shares in all three airline companies opened higher, with gains of around 2% - albeit against the background of a general rising market. | |
| Wild | |
| Ryanair's chief executive Michael O'Leary said in a statement: "We believe the IAG offer for Aer Lingus is a reasonable one in the current market and we plan to accept it, in the best interests of Ryanair shareholders. | |
| "The price means that Ryanair will make a small profit on its investment in Aer Lingus over the past nine years." | |
| Ryanair has attempted to buy Aer Lingus three times. Its takeover quest began in 2006, just after Aer Lingus was floated on the stock market by the Irish government. | |
| Ryanair's initial bid illustrates the wild swings in Aer Lingus's value since then. Its first offer was €2.80 a share. The second, two years later, was half that and its most recent offer in 2012 was €1.30 a share. | |
| Offer details | |
| The Irish government, which sold its 25% stake in Aer Lingus to IAG in May, recommended that Ryanair accept IAG's offer. | The Irish government, which sold its 25% stake in Aer Lingus to IAG in May, recommended that Ryanair accept IAG's offer. |
| The deal values Aer Lingus shares at around €2.50 (£1.87) per share. | |
| Aer Lingus is Heathrow Airport's fourth busiest operator, behind BA, Lufthansa and Virgin Atlantic. | |
| If the deal is approved, IAG would gain more take-off and landing slots at Heathrow Airport, allowing it to operate more flights. | |
| Ryanair said it had planned to use Aer Lingus to gain slots at mainstream airports. | |
| Travellers have been surprised in the past by the distance of some of Ryanair's airports from the city they thought they were flying to. | |
| Michael O'Leary said Ryanair did not need Aer Lingus now: "Our original strategy for Aer Lingus (to use it as a mid-priced brand to offer competition to flag carriers at primary airports) has been overtaken by the successful rollout - since Sept 2013 - of Ryanair's "Always Getting Better" strategy, which has seen the Ryanair brand successfully enter many of Europe's primary airports." |