International Consolidated Airlines' Group (IAG) chief executive, Willie Walsh, is confident that the Ryanair board will give "due consideration" to his company's €1.4 billion offer for Aer Lingus.
Ryanair’s 29.8 per cent stake in Aer Lingus gives it the power to derail IAG’s take over bid for the Irish flag carrier, which this week won the backing of the Government.
Speaking at a press conference on Wednesday, Mr Walsh said that it was IAG’s “expectation that the Ryanair board will give our offer due consideration”.
Ryanair has refused to comment on IAG’s bid, beyond saying that its board would weigh any offer it receives for its Aer Lingus shares on its merits.
IAG has made its offer conditional on getting acceptances from both Ryanair and the Government, which holds the State’s 25.1 per cent stake in the airline.
Late on Tuesday, the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, Paschal Donohoe, confirmed that the Government was prepared to support the IAG offer.
The coalition has won legally-binding guarantees that Aer Lingus will retain ownership of its valuable rights at London’s Heathrow Airport and commitments that services to the hub from the Republic will be maintained.
All Aer Lingus shareholders, including Ryanair, will receive the formal offer documents over the next month.
Speaking this morning, Mr Walsh, a former Aer Lingus chief executive, confirmed that both companies believe the take over will lead to the creation of 150 extra jobs by the end of next year and 635 by 2020.
In the shorter term, a number of jobs will be lost in areas such as finance and IT if the take over goes ahead. Trade unions Siptu and Impact are demanding that there be no compulsory skills.
