Just reading BBC news and it states that Irish Govt which retains 25% stake is unwilling to sell at all, Aer Lingus mgmt is considering the sale and Ryanair have alledgedly issued a statement saying it has no problem with the Irish Govt remaining as minority stakeholder. If you scratch beneath the surface Ryanair have been very clever. They guessed that the Govt was unwilling to sell to them as it wants to promote aviation competition in Ireland so its waited until the Irish govt has floated a majority stake and then snapped up shares at the cheap IPO price and in the days after to build up a credible stake and then if it wins its takeover regardless of if the Irish govt retains 25% it will still be the majority shareholder and can control the airline (although am sure it would prefer full ownership).
As i said in previous post, an odd move given Ryanair's set up and all the wrangling thats gone on in the past between the two but i can actually see the benefits on thinking about it
1) Profitable Long Haul Routes
2) Ability to cut Irish/UK routes where both would operate to avoid overlap but at same time launch new routes using the Aer lingus aircraft which wouldnt be used on these routes anymore
3) A greater chunk of slots and presence at Irish Airports, esp Dub
4) A foothold into LHR - it could even sell some slots here for lucrative cash but its not as though Ryanair needs it
However as stated two things which could put a dampner are as stated competition authorities and a potential shareholder which doesnt seem to approve the offer.
I wonder if a Ryanair owned Aer Lingus would work well with BA ( a company it often slates) on the codeshare routes between UK and Ireland?