Ryanair's €1.48 billion bid for Aer Lingus has little chance of succeeding, the airline's chief financial officer conceded today.
"We believe, at this stage, it is a long shot," Ryanair chief financial Officer Howard Millar told a conference in London. "The possibility is about the same as England winning the Six Nations [rugby union tournament] next year," he said.
Two key shareholder blocks, with around 40 per cent of Aer Lingus, have formally rejected the €2.80-a-share bid for the former State carrier.
Ryanair has set a deadline of December 4th for shareholders to accept its bid, which faced an uphill battle from the start.
The Government, which has a 25.4 per cent stake in Aer Lingus and is its largest shareholder, said from the outset it would not sell its stake.
Last week, a trust of current and former Aer Lingus employees, which is the company's third largest shareholder with 12.6 per cent, also rejected the bid.
Mr Millar said the level of acceptances so far was small and that Ryanair was not expecting to get enough of the remaining shareholders to back the bid in order for the carrier to secure the controlling stake it wants.
However, the airline does plan to remain a long-term shareholder. Yesterday, Ryanair confirmed it had raised its stake in Aer Lingus to 25.2 per cent, giving it the right to vote down resolutions and, given the Government's "no-sale" position, effectively blocking anyone else from making an approach.
"It puts us in a position where we have taken up a bit more of the slack, and it makes it difficult for anyone else to come in," Mr Millar said. Ryanair can keep buying shares in Aer Lingus until its stake reaches 29.9 per cent.
Mr Millar said he did not know if Ryanair would do so but it would make the decision in the next year.
The European Commission said today it had delayed a decision on Ryanair's planned purchase of Aer Lingus to December 20th from December 6th to consider possible remedies to competition fears.