Surely, unless you're an EI board member, you cannot know wether this statement is true!
Don't need to be a board member to know its true.
Aside from FR there was nobody else interested in making a bid up to late last year. Markets know who is buying or trading shares and pretty evident nobody was interested because EI added nothing to them.
FR and BA/IAG were only 2 places that EI would ever fit.
FR ensured nobody else was going to make a bid while it was within the market for EI.
EI is after 10 years stalled, its passenger numbers are flat, it has no clear long term strategy aside from adding some T/A routes some of which it previously pulled away from.
Financially its pension has cost of €200 million plus with strikes and pay offs to staff adding as much again.
FR is now carrying more people per month than EI do in a full year.
FR has suceeded in eliminating a longer term potential competitor over last 9 years who had full Irish Govt backing. Sure EI competes with it out of Ireland but er that's it.