Aer Lingus Sale
This from this morning's Irish Independent;
Aer Lingus is cleared for a quick sell-off
THE Government intends to sell off Aer Lingus as quickly as possible.
Workers were told of the sell-off plans last night during a 90-minute meeting with Public Enterprise Minister Mary O'Rourke.
She told IMPACT union leaders she had instructed AIB and Citigroup to search for any interested buyers over the next month. She has also asked them to suggest a price tag which would attract a buyer.
Later, a department spokesman conceded the troubled airline could even be bought by discount rivals Ryanair, though this is thought unlikely.
In return, Aer Lingus staff will be offered a further 9.9pc on top of the 5pc shareholding already held by an employee trust since 1993. The extra shares would be worth about £30m, or around £4,600 for each employee.
Last night, SIPTU industrial secretary Noel Dowling criticised the plans for a quick disposal. He said such a sale, rather than a stock-market flotation, would be a "fire sale" giveaway.
Last night Mrs O'Rourke also met the airline's chairman Bernie Cahill to outline her plans.
Aer Lingus is approaching scrap value following the effects of the foot-and-mouth panic, the downturn in the US economy, and a year of industrial disputes and inter-union rivalries. The embarrassing row over allegations of sexual harassment against chief executive Michael Foley has left senior management rudderless.
Continuing high prices for aviation fuel and recent wage increases of about 20pc have further hit the airline's prospects.
Last night, a Department of Public Enterprise spokesman said both Taoiseach Bertie Ahern and Mrs O'Rourke are determined to sell Aer Lingus.
The Government wants to dispose of it completely and will not be retaining any golden shareholding.
He said a sale to rivals Ryanair could not be ruled out as the Government would consider all expressions of interest. However, he thought the discount carrier would not be interested in acquiring a full-service airline.
The department's aviation chief John Lumsden has been asked to get talks restarted on employee share-holding.
They collapsed last August in the midst of spiraling industrial relations rows which led to the grounding of the fleet on five occasions over the past seven months.
While IMPACT, which represents 2,500 staff, has generally supported flotation plans and securing a 15pc stake, the rival SIPTU, with about 3,500 members, was less positive about the flotation proposals.
Key to the airline's problems are recent pay deals which will boost wage costs by about £30m and contribute to a slashing of profits to £10m or less.
Yesterday's meeting with IMPACT followed a letter sent by the union's aviation branch to Mrs O'Rourke last week in which they expressed concern about the state of the company and the impact of the board room row with Mr Foley, whose development strategies the union broadly supported.