Hi McCloud,
It looks as if the ESOT decision to buy shares from the govt was a pre-arranged tactic, in that they had an option to do so and the purchase was at a fixed price, so it was done outside the stock exchange.
As to MO'L, I get the impression that he is now acting out of pique; the mask has slipped quite seriously, in that the message - while being implied until recently (when Michael Cawley hinted at what would happen if the bid failed), is now quite open: "blood on the carpet out of Dublin next year" if the bid fails. In other words, it's an open ultimatum: do it our way now, or we'll strangle EI next year. It's not a particularly nice way (to put it very mildly) of doing business, but the problem is that he could do that, if he so wished ... but he still has that shareholding and if he were to do that, he'd effectively be destroying his own investment, so arguably he's painted himself into a corner?
If he reneges and does sell out, could he make any money? Highly unlikely, because the very fact of his pulling out would send the message that "now we're going to make life very difficult" would send the price south very quickly, especially as he'll be trying to sell nearly a fifth of the airline. So, he is stuck and also, let's not forget that, having said he would remain as a minority shareholding, he'd be seeing as having gone back on his word - lots of ammunition for those who say he can't be trusted.
In effect, having FR on board as a shareholder is EI's best insurance policy; it goes beyond that, because - apart from forcing down costs and sacking so many of the workforce - much of what FR has promised for EI can actually be done with FR as a minority shareholder, for example, the much needed dusting off and expansion of the long haul product.