Ryanair hopes Irish Government will sell Aer Lingus stake
20.10.10
Ryanair hopes the Irish government's financial problems will help it finally seal a takeover of rival Aer Lingus, the budget airline's chief executive Michael O'Leary told a German newspaper. He told Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung: ‘The government is broke now, it has to sell its assets. In the end, it will sell Aer Lingus as well.'
Ryanair, which owns just under 30 percent of Aer Lingus, has tried twice to take over its rival but has struggled to overcome opposition from the Irish government, which holds a quarter of Aer Lingus shares.
Mr O'Leary said: ‘I hope, we will buy (Aer Lingus),’ adding he would aim to expand Aer Lingus as quickly as possible following any deal. ‘We could, for instance, get access to [Paris] Charles de Gaulle and compete with easyJet,’ he said.
A takeover of Aer Lingus could also increase the likelihood that Ryanair started buying Airbus planes. He said: ‘We have no credibility in negotiations with Airbus. They do not believe us that we really want to buy their planes. I think that will only change if we own an Airbus airline such as Aer Lingus.'
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