HispanicBusiness

Budget airline Ryanair said it planned to make a EUR 694 million cash bid for Aer Lingus in a fresh attempt to gain control of its rival.

Ryanair said yesterday after financial markets closed that it would offer EUR 1.30 per share for Aer Lingus, in which it has a 29.8 percent stake. The main obstacle to a takeover would be the European Commission, which decided to prohibit an earlier bid in June 2007.

Britain's competition authorities could also cause problems. The Office of Fair Trading last week ruled Ryanair's ownership of the minority stake threatened competition in the UK.

But Ryanair said it believed circumstances had changed materially since 2006, citing consolidation within the industry and more capacity at Dublin.