Aer Lingus advises shareholders to take no action on Ryanair bid
Aer Lingus advised (20-Jun-2012) its shareholders to take no action on Ryanair's bid to take over the carrier for EUR694 million, or EUR1.30 per share. Aer Lingus said the offer undervalues the carrier and expressed doubt whether the bid would be allowed. Meanwhile Fianna Fáil and Sinn Féin called for the Irish Government, which owns a 25% stake in Aer Lingus, to block the bid. Irish Prime Minister Enda Kenny said, "The Government would be concerned obviously in terms of competition, in term of consumer facilities, in terms of price, access to the country. But it is a minority share that Government have, we don't have any veto over this, we don't have any blocking rights, and the details of the offer made by Ryanair have not yet been considered collectively by Government." Mr Kenny however said the Government would not be forced to sell state assets and will be required to consider a number of issues over the bid. The European Commission plans to review the takeover bid once Ryanair files a notification. The Commission blocked Ryanair's previous attempts to take over the Irish national carrier but stated it "will re-examine the notification as it is in the current circumstances". [more - original PR - Aer Lingus] [more - original PR - Ryanair] [more - original PR - Sinn Féin]