Ryanair has launched its third bid for rival airline Aer Lingus, despite previous attempts having been blocked on competition grounds. Ryanair is offering €1.30 per Aer Lingus share in an all cash bid, valuing the Irish flag carrier at around €694 million.
The offer represents a 38.3% premium to Aer Lingus’s closing price on Tuesday of 94 cents. Ryanair already owns a 29.82pc stake in Aer Lingus, built up during two previous unsuccessful attempts to buy the carrier in 2006 and 2008, a holding which is currently the subject of an investigation by the UK’s Competition Commission.
Ryanair believes that the trading environment for airlines had changed materially since its last attempt to buy Aer Lingus.