The crucial staff shareholding group at Aer Lingus is expected to issue a statement on Sunday outlining a negative response to the €1.4 billion Ryanair offer for the airline, writes Emmet Oliver.
The Employee Share Ownership Trust (Esot) will not directly recommend or reject the Ryanair offer, but an accompanying letter to members will question the financial claims made by Ryanair. This is likely to be seen as coming close to a formal rejection.
It will represent the first negative commentary on the Ryanair offer sent to members of the Esot, which now holds a crucial shareholding of approximately 12 per cent.
The final say on the offer by the Esot will be left to its approximately 4,660 members in a ballot. Last night, a senior source said the letter to members would question the accuracy of Ryanair's offer document. The letter is described as "legalistic and technical" by sources, but its general tone indicates that the Esot trustees are clearly not supportive of the Ryanair bid.
At this point, the Ryanair offer is facing certain defeat. Another staff group at Aer Lingus, known as the Central Representative Council, issued its own document yesterday accusing Ryanair of making "misleading comments" and having a confrontational history with unions.
Meanwhile, Aer Lingus the company has effectively shut the door on any deal with Ryanair, regardless of the price.
Dermot Mannion, Aer Lingus chief executive said yesterday at a press briefing in Dublin: "Let's be unequivocal, I cannot conceive of circumstances in which the Ryanair takeover will be approved by the Aer Lingus board". He was responding to questions about what might be an "acceptable" Ryanair offer. He was speaking after Aer Lingus released an 81-page defence document outlining its opposition.
Ryanair for its part declined to make any further comment, although the company is likely to address the subject when it announces financial results on Monday. The company has said if it cannot gain majority control it will retain its 19.2 per cent stake, although it reserves the right to oppose major decisions made by the board. Aer Lingus chairman John Sharman said yesterday of this: "It will certainly make for interesting annual general meetings".
The Esot members are likely to resoundingly reject the Ryanair bid in their ballot. One senior trade union source commented last night: "We would expect the kind of majorities Kim Jong-Il gets in North Korea".
Those who want to accept the Ryanair offer must send their acceptances in by November 13th. The offer will lapse in December if sufficient acceptances are not submitted.