The European Commission will decide later whether Ryanair’s attempt to takeover Aer Lingus breaches competition law.
In June, Ryanair offered 1-euro-30 per Aer Lingus share, valuing the carrier’s equity at 694-million euro.
But Aer Lingus has rejected the offer – saying it undervalues the company.
There’s a general consensus that the European Commission is not going to give clearance to Ryanair’s offer for the national airline.
But Ryanair, which has a 29.8 per cent stake in Aer Lingus, is seeking to avoid a repetition of the commission’s 2007 objections – by demonstrating that other airlines would operate routes where the two Irish carriers have overlapping services.
It’s understood Ryanair has made informal approaches to other airlines, including British Airways and Virgin Atlantic, about taking up some of Aer Lingus’s Heathrow take-off and landing slots, in an effort to address competition concerns.
But it’s believed none of them have expressed much of interest in the idea.
The European Commission will make it’s ruling on Ryanair’s takeover bid for Aer Lingus at 10 o’clock this morning.
