The chief of budget airline Ryanair said Friday he would consider raising the price of the hostile takeover bid for rival Aer Lingus, but said Ryanair would not wait more than another three weeks for a response.
Michael O’Leary said Ryanair might pay more than the euro1.40 ($1.86) per share it has already offered but would not consider paying euro2 or more per share.
“We are not stupid people and will not pay stupid prices,” he said, urging the Irish government and Aer Lingus shareholders to act quickly on the proposed takeover.
“Our offer will deliver almost euro750 million to Aer Lingus shareholders, including almost euro190 million for the Irish government as well as 1,000 new jobs in Aer Lingus at a time when thousands of jobs are being lost in Ireland,” O’Leary said.
He predicted Aer Lingus shares would sink badly if the deal does not go through by the Feb. 13 deadline set by Ryanair.
Aer Lingus shares were trading above the current offer price, at euro1.60 per share on the Irish Stock Exchange Friday afternoon, unchanged from Thursday. Ryanair was trading at euro3.26, a 2 percent rise, on the London Stock Exchange.
O’Leary said the company hoped to meet shortly with Ireland’s Minister of Transport to outline the advantages of the offer. He said he would use the meeting to emphasize that a decision must be made on Ryanair’s offer within the next three weeks.
The company has tried in the past to take over Aer Lingus, but has met opposition from the management and staff. This takeover bid was launched in earnest last month.
In early December, O’Leary said Ryanair would double Aer Lingus’ short haul fleet within five years, create 1,000 new jobs for pilots, cabin crews and engineers, and move Aer Lingus into new locations in Britain and Europe. He said Aer Lingus faced job losses and revenue falls if the takeover was blocked.
An earlier takeover attempt in 2006 was rejected by the Irish government.
Ryanair released a statement Friday indicating that it would not engage in protracted negotations unless the proposal has “significant prior support” from Aer Lingus shareholders.
