4-Nov-2010 6:24 PM
Government to sell Aer Lingus stake to company that will guarantee independence
Aer Lingus CEO Christoph Mueller stated the Irish Government will only sell its 25% stake in Aer Lingus to a party that can guarantee its independence from Ryanair (Irish Examiner, 04-Nov-2010). The stake is valued at around EUR150 million.
Aer Lingus: "The Irish Government needs to make sure we are not taken over by Ryanair, because only two air carriers guarantee that the fares from London to Dublin remain very low. They will only sell to a party which guarantees the independence of Aer Lingus. I have no other information than that and we talk to them regularly. They are very pleased the share price is coming up and that we create value for the government at this time," Christoph Mueller, CEO. Source: Irish Examiner, 04-Nov-2010.