Skift Take
O'Leary has worked hard to polish a gentler image, but he'll fight this decision with all his former fervor.
As British Airways' owner IAG Group’s bid for Aer Lingus moves forward, Irish low-cost carrier Ryanair, which holds a 29.8% stake in the Irish legacy carrier, has suffered a big setback which could force it to sell a large portion of its holdings in the legacy carrier at a discount.
The UK Court of Appeals ruled on June 11 in support of UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) requiring that Ryanair sell down its shares of Aer Lingus to 5%.
The case has been open since 2013, when the UK’s Competition Commission determined that Ryanair had undue influence over Aer Lingus, stifling competition.
Simon Polito, Competition Commission Deputy Chairman and Chairman of the Ryanair/Aer Lingus Inquiry Group, said at the time: “We consider that there is a tension between Ryanair’s position as a competitor and its position as Aer Lingus’s largest shareholder, and that Ryanair has an incentive to weaken its rival’s effectiveness as a competit
