UPDATE: Ryanair makes bid for Aer Lingus
Ryanair has announced its intention to make an all cash of €1.30 per share for Aer Lingus.
According to a statement by Ryanair, the offer applies to the entire issued and to be issued share capital of Aer Lingus, and values the airline at approximately €694 million.
Ryanair intends to make this offer through its wholly-owned subsidiary, Coinside Limited. The airline already owns 29.82 percent of Aer Lingus.
According to Ryanair's statement, the offer represents:
* a premium of 38.3 per cent over the closing price of an Aer Lingus share
* a premium of 46.7 per cent over the average closing price of an Aer Lingus share for the past six months
Ryanair also said that the offer price was in addition to the dividend for each Aer Lingus share of approximately €0.03 declared by Aer Lingus on May 4 and payable on July 31.
According to the Ryanair statement, the airline believes that as the air transport market in Europe consolidates, the “long term future of Aer Lingus, its brand and its growth prospects can best be secured within one strong Irish airline group, led by Ryanair”.
“Ryanair also believes that circumstances have changed materially since its first unsuccessful bid for Aer Lingus in late 2006 and that there are compelling reasons why Ryanair's new all cash offer should be accepted by a majority of Aer Lingus shareholders, and should also be approved by the EU competition authorities,” the airline's statement said.
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