Irish airline Ryanair Holdings Plc (LON:RYA) said today it will unconditionally sell its entire 29% interest in smaller rival Aer Lingus Group Plc (LON:AERL) to any other European Union (EU) carrier that makes a bid and secures acceptances from 50.1% of the target’s stockholders.
The announcement was made after the UK’s Competition Commission (CC) said in late May that Ryanair may have to reduce or shed its entire stake in Aer Lingus as it could threaten competition on certain routes.
Ryanair, which has itself failed to take full control of Aer Lingus three times already, noted that this remedy eliminates the company’s ability to block any future acquisition of the business by another EU airline.
The CC is expected to finalise an investigation into Ryanair’s stake by 5 September.
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