NEW YORK (The Deal) -- Low-cost airline Ryanair has hit another stumbling block in its fight to keep its 29.8% stake in Aer Lingus , as Irish government opposition continues to cloud International Consolidated Airlines' pursuit of Aer Lingus. The latest turbulence for Ryanair came on Friday, April 17, when the U.K.'s Competition and Markets Authority provisionally denied the low-cost carrier's request to re-examine an August 2013 order for Ryanair to cut its ownership to 5%. Must Read: 11 Safe High-Yield Dividend Stocks for Times of Volatility and Uncertainty Ryanair had asked the CMA to withdraw the sell-down demand, arguing that circumstances had changed because of IAG's unsolicited offers for Irish government-backed Aer Lingus. A spokesman for the CMA said that a final decision should come this summer. Ryanair is separately attempting to fight the selldown order at the U.K.'s Supreme Court after losing a case at the Court of Appeal in February. Ryanair was not immediately available to comment. Friday's decision comes amid continued uncertainty over IAG's negotiations with the Irish government over the sale of its 25.1% stake in Aer Lingus. While several media outlets have reported progress in talks over Heathrow Airport slot guarantees, Irish transport minister Paschal Donohoe is quoted in Friday's Irish Independent newspaper as saying that slots remain "a complicated issue." Dublin is expected to reach a decision within the next few weeks, while the Aer Lingus board has already backed the sweetened €1.4 billion ($1.5 billion) bid in principle. In Friday's decision, the CMA disagreed with Ryanair that IAG's offer changes the ballgame. "Our provisional view is that the circumstances around IAG's proposed bid are consistent with the findings in our report," said Simon Polito, chairman of the CMA's Ryanair/Aer Lingus inquiry group, in a statement. He added: "As the decisions in our report made clear, without any action to reduce its shareholding, Ryanair would remain a significant hurdle to any merger because it has an incentive as a competitor of Aer Lingus and, by its shareholding, the ability to hinder Aer Lingus from implementing its own commercial strategy." The provisional decision is now open for comments, which the CMA will consider before issuing a final order. Must Read: Warren Buffett's 7 Secrets to Dividend Investing Revealed Read more from:
Click to view a price quote on RYAAY. Click to research the Transportation industry.
from Latest TSC Headlines http://ift.tt/1HA39Ni
No comments:
Post a Comment