Planestation buys EUjet stake, shares take off
LONDON, May 19 (Reuters) - UK airport operator Planestation Group PLC has bought a 30 percent stake in Irish airline EUjet, the anchor airline for its international airport in southern England, Planestation said on Wednesday.
The acquisition led Planestation shares to rise six percent to 5.00 pence in morning trade, having earlier hit a 12-day high at 5.13 pence. The company has a current stock market value of around 100 million pounds ($177 million).
Planestation is buying the stake for two million pounds.
Low-cost airline EUjet will start European flights from Planestation's Manston airport in the southern English region of Kent in September, following in the footsteps of low-cost operators EasyJet (LSE: EZJ.L - news) and Ryanair .
"The important part is that we are working together. Because we own the airport, we wanted a flagship airline that uses it as a base," Planestation's Corporate Director Christopher Foster told Reuters. "This will help put Manston on the map."
The acquisition makes Planestation the second largest stakeholder in EUjet, after the airline's Chief Executive P J McGoldrick, formerly head of Ryanair (Dublin: RYA.I - news) .