Ryanair 'Will not bid on Aer Lingus Shares'

 

The Government of Ireland is rumoured to be thinking about selling it's 25% stake in Aer Lingus as a means of raising revenue for the stricken economy.

Ireland's Minister of Transport, Leo Varadkar, confirmed that such a move is " being considered ", and that it could result in an injection of 2 Billion euros into the economy.

Share prices in Aer Lingus increased by 0.4% following the news, which now results in the company being valued at around €357 million.

The favourite to buy the government's 25% share of the company if such a sale should go ahead is Ryanair, who already have a 30% stake in the company.

The Government has insisted that the sale of their shares would not be a 'fire sale', and as such would only consider doing so at the right price. This being the case, it looks unlikely that Ryanair would find the purchase option attractive.

In July of this year, Ryanair's CEO Micheal O'Leary told reporters : "With the possible exception of Aer Lingus , I don't think there are any airlines Ryanair would be interested in acquiring"

However, a statement released by the airline Ryanair now confirms that it would not bid on the government's shares of the airline, and that the airline would hate to make an offer if that offer would be ‘unwelcome'.