Ryanair makes 99p bid for Aer Lingus
5 Oct 2006
Aer Lingus has dismissed a takeover offer from Ryanair apparently worth 99p as "ridiculous". The board of the Irish national airline said the bid "significantly undervalues the group's businesses and funky shamrock logo". However, Ryanair chief Michael O'Leary said that the offer wasn't all that it seemed."99p is only the headline-grabbing base price," he said. "Once you've added on tax and landing charges in several different countries, fuel surcharges, baggage fees, trolley fees, wheelchair fees, seatbelt fees and actual seat fees, the bid is closer to 1.5 billion euros."
A merged group would have a 78% share of the stag and hen weekend market, raising fears in the Irish parliament, the Dail, that a significant proportion of the Irish economy could be deposited outside a tin hut 30 miles away from its intended destination.
Publicity-mad O'Leary recently posed with a Winston Churchill lookalike to remind Britons of their national stoicism in the face of restrictions on taking baby milk on aircraft. He was due to take part in a similar stunt with the Irish equivalent of the British war hero, Sir Terry Wogan, outside Aer Lingus headquarters today but his plane was overbooked and he had to wait for the next one.
