Ryanair Offers To Sell Aer Lingus Shareholding To Another EU Airline

(RTTNews) - Irish low cost airline Ryanair Holdings Plc (RYAAY, RYA.L) confirmed that, as part of its ongoing remedies talks with the UK Competition Commission or CC in a case where the CC have produced no evidence whatever of any lessening of competition as a result of Ryanair's 61/2 year old 29% interest in Aer Lingus (AERL.L), Ryanair has now offered the following undertaking to the CC: To dispel the CC's unfounded and invented "concern" that Ryanair's shareholding may prevent Aer Lingus from being acquired by another EU airline, Ryanair would undertake to unconditionally sell its 29% shareholding to any other EU airline that makes an offer for Aer Lingus and obtains acceptances from 50.1% of Aer Lingus shareholders.

This remedy is without prejudice to Ryanair's vehement objection to the CC's manifestly false conclusion that Ryanair has influence over Aer Lingus' commercial strategy and/or that Ryanair's 61/2 year old minority stake in Aer Lingus has led to a lessening of competition. This conclusion is flatly contradicted by 61/2 years of evidence, by the European Commission's findings in February 2013 that competition between Ryanair and Aer Lingus has intensified, and by the evidence submitted even by Aer Lingus and the Irish Government, which proves that competition between Ryanair and Aer Lingus intensified to the benefit of consumers over the last 61/2 years.