Company Watch - Ryanair.Oct 9, 2006 Aer Lingus Aer Lingus is Ireland's national airline. Based in Dublin, it operates 41 Airbus aircraft serving Europe, Africa, North America and the Middle East. The airline is 28% owned by the Irish government; it was floated on the Dublin and London Stock Exchanges on 2 October 2006, Job Cuts 'Wild Speculation' - Ryanair. Ryanair described as "wild speculation" a newspaper report that said the carrier planned to cut 1,000 jobs at Irish operator Aer Lingus if its takeover bid Noun 1. takeover bid - an offer to buy shares in order to take over the company two-tier bid - a takeover bid where the acquirer offers to pay more for the shares needed to gain control than for the remaining shares succeeds. Europe's biggest low-cost operator made the surprise cash offer for Aer Lingus on Thursday in a deal that values its target at EUR EUR In currencies, this is the abbreviation for the Euro. Notes: The currency market, also known as the Foreign Exchange market, is the largest financial market in the world, with a daily average volume of over US $1 trillion. 1.48 billion euros (USD USD In currencies, this is the abbreviation for the U.S. Dollar. Notes: The currency market, also known as the Foreign Exchange market, is the largest financial market in the world, with a daily average volume of over US $1 trillion. $1.86 billion) -- 27 percent above the price at which its flotation was launched last week. Ryanair said it planned to retain Aer Lingus's staff and management and for Aer Lingus to maintain its current long and short-haul business model -- but that Ryanair would help it to drive down costs. In turn, Ryanair would benefit from Aer Lingus's superior earnings yield, which is better than the returns Ryanair can get on its cash deposits. Oct 8, 2006 Ryanair faces opposition to the deal from Aer Lingus management, unions and the Irish government, which has a 28 percent stake in the carrier. Shares in Aer Lingus climbed on Friday as investors speculated the budget carrier would have to raise its surprise offer for the group given the fierce objections to the deal. Analysts have said the deal seems attractive for shareholders in Aer Lingus, which launched its initial public offering at 2.20 euros a share last week -- 60 cents below Ryanair's bid -- but the advantages for Ryanair were less clear. Oct 8, 2006 The Irish Independent newspaper reported on Saturday that Ryanair boss Michael O'Leary Michael O'Leary is the name of a number of prominent people:
Ryanair Aer Lingus deal will ombine a low-cost airline with a legacy carrier addresses the weaknesses of the two business models. Legacy carriers struggle to compete domestically because of higher costs, but low-cost airlines The following is a list of low cost carriers: Asia Bangladesh
Founding member and first violinist of the Juilliard String Quartet for 52 years, American Robert Mann (1920-) is also a composer, conductor and mentor to younger generations of string musicians. said these combinations could take the form of full-blown mergers, but more modest partnerships, such as Southwest Airlines' alliance with ATA Airlines ATA Airlines, Inc., formerly known as American Trans Air, is an American low-cost scheduled service and charter airline based in Indianapolis, Indiana. ATA operates scheduled passenger flights throughout the US mainland and Hawaii, as well as military and commercial charter , would be easier to carry out. But there will be cultural clashes. Although both are based in Ireland, Aer Lingus and Ryanair would be uncomfortable bedfellows, said Randy Babbitt, chief executive of aviation advisory firm Eclat Consulting. "It would be a very difficult cultural merger," he said. Oct 6, 2006 Ryanair is an aggressive, no-frills carrier, while Aer Lingus is a legacy national carrier that has strong links to the Irish government, its largest shareholder. Evidence that there will be problems surfaced on Friday, when Irish opposition politicians and union officials decried the merger proposal. Some industry experts also have doubts about the rationale of merging low-cost and legacy carriers. "I don't really see that model would work," said Geert Boven, acting chief executive of Abu Dhabi-based Etihad Airways Etihad Airways (Arabic: الإتحاد, ʼal-ʻitiħād) is the flag carrier of the United Arab Emirates. Etihad is based in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the UAE. . "It's two completely different business models." Oct 6, 2006 Ryanair Aer Lingus Bid May Serve As Industry Model. Ryanair's USD$1.9 billion bid for Aer Lingus, which would pair a low-cost carrier A low-cost carrier or low-cost airline (also known as a no-frills or discount carrier / airline) is an airline that offers generally low fares in exchange for eliminating many traditional passenger services. with a traditional airline, could represent the model for consolidation in the industry, experts say. Merger speculation, especially in the United States United States, officially United States of America, republic (2005 est. pop. 295,734,000), 3,539,227 sq mi (9,166,598 sq km), North America. The United States is the world's third largest country in population and the fourth largest country in area. , has been rampant recently as the financial performance of airlines improves. And with over 260 carriers in the world, the industry is seen as unwieldy and ripe for thinning. Although the Aer Lingus board has rejected the bid made on Thursday as undervalued Undervalued A stock or other security that is trading below its true value. Notes: The difficulty is knowing what the "true" value actually is. Analysts will usually recommend an undervalued stock with a strong buy rating. , Ryanair's plan would link a rapidly growing point-to-point carrier with a long-haul national carrier. Traditional carriers have for years been losing domestic or short-haul market share to low-cost carriers and the trend is expected to continue. This has led many legacy carriers, such as United Airlines and American Airlines American Airlines Major U.S. airline. American was created through a merger of several smaller U.S. airlines and incorporated in 1934. It continued to buy the routes of other airlines, becoming an international carrier in the 1970s; its routes include South America, the to expand international routes, which are less contested, but often more complex to operate. Oct 6, 2006 Aer Lingus, and its employee trust which holds around 15 percent of the group, were not available to comment and only issued a brief statement over four hours after Ryanair announced its bid, saying it was considering the announcement and would make another statement in due course. Meanwhile the airline's main union, which opposed privatization privatization: see nationalization. privatization Transfer of government services or assets to the private sector. State-owned assets may be sold to private owners, or statutory restrictions on competition between privately and publicly owned , said the takeover would be bad for Ireland. Ryanair does not negotiate with unions in its own business but said Aer Lingus would be able to operate as at present. Oct 5, 2006 Exane BNP BNP B-type natriuretic peptide, brain natriuretic peptide Physiology A 32-residue peptide hormone produced predominantly in the ventricles, secreted in response to fluid overload–eg, CHF. See Atrial natriuretic peptide. analyst Nick van den Brul said the Ryanair-Aer Lingus deal could get cleared by competition regulators although the groups may have to sacrifice a few routes. Van den Brul said investors would also want to be reassured the deal would not make Ryanair less profitable given Aer Lingus's lower margins and added some might be disappointed if a deal dashed hopes of Ryanair returning cash to shareholders. Oct 5, 2006 Ryanair Makes USD$1.9 Bln Bid For Aer Lingus. Ryanair, Europe's biggest budget airline, launched a surprise bid for Aer Lingus on Thursday, valuing the former Irish state carrier -- which listed just four days ago -- at EUR1.48 billion euros (USD$1.9 billion). Ryanair Chief Executive Michael O'Leary, who has long said he has no interest in the long-haul market, said Ryanair and Aer Lingus would be run as separate businesses. Oct 5, 2006 Ryanair revealed it had already bought 16 percent of Aer Lingus in the market and would offer 2.80 euros a share in cash for the rest of the group -- a 27 percent premium to Aer Lingus's 2.20 euros per share flotation price. The shares closed on Wednesday at 2.51 euros. The budget airline would retain Aer Lingus's staff and management and Aer Lingus would keep its own branding and continue to operate its mixed long-haul and short-haul business -- but Ryanair said it would help it drive down costs. In turn Ryanair would benefit from Aer Lingus's superior earnings yield, which is better than the returns Ryanair can currently get on its cash deposits. Oct 5, 2006 The Irish government said it would not sell its remaining 28 percent stake but O'Leary told reporters that while he was targeting at least a 50.1 percent controlling stake he would be happy to have the government, with whom he has often clashed in the past, as a minority shareholder. Only if Ryanair can get a sizeable holding in Aer Lingus would it delist the company, he added. Under takeover rules his company can continue to buy in the open market -- at not more than the offer price -- until it reaches a stake of just under 30 percent. O'Leary said he did not expect to face competition issues over the deal and that Ryanair and Aer Lingus's networks only overlapped on 17 of their combined 500 routes. Oct 5, 2006 The Ryanair-Aer Lingus takeover would create an airline with about 50 million passengers annually, capable of competing with large European airline alliances and groupings like Air France-KLM Air France-KLM (Euronext Paris: AF, NYSE: AKH) is an airline company incorporated under French law with its headquarters at Roissy-Charles de Gaulle Airport near Paris, France. and Lufthansa-SAS-Swiss. Aer Lingus -- which had a valuation at listing of about 12.7 times earnings per share for calendar 2006, broadly in line with British Airways British Airways in full British Airways PLC International passenger airline based in London. In 1936 British Airways Ltd. was founded through the merger of three smaller airlines. -- went to the market to raise money to help it with a planned EUR2 billion (USD$2.54 billion) fleet expansion, which includes upgrading its long-haul operation. O'Leary said he would want Aer Lingus to continue with that aim and would want the former state operator to upgrade that service so it included beds and other high-end services. Oct 5, 2006 Ireland Outlines Need For Aer Lingus Blocking Stake. Ireland's finance minister said in a newspaper interview published on Monday it was important for the government to keep a blocking minority stake in Aer Lingus to show its commitment to the airline. Brian Cowen Brian Cowen (Irish: Brian Ó Comhain; born 10 January, 1960) is a senior Irish Fianna Fáil politician and the current Tánaiste of Ireland. said the move was to prevent a foreign takeover of the Irish state carrier, which floated last week. The FT said Aer Lingus' 23 landing slots Landing slots or Airport slots are rights allocated to an airline by an airport or government agency granting an airline the right to schedule a landing or departure at a specific time. at London's Heathrow Airport were a key part of its development. The carrier is still seen as Ireland's national airline despite a reduction in the state's shareholding from 85 percent to 34.8 percent last week, the newspaper reported. Cowen told the Financial Times the government's decision to maintain its stake was also to prevent the business being taken over by foreign interests. The newspaper said the government's stake would fall to just under 28 percent as it sells a further 6.5 percent over the coming weeks. Aer Lingus priced its initial public offering at 2.20 euros a share last Wednesday, valuing the group at EUR1.13 billion euros (USD$1.43 billion). Oct 2, 2006 Ryanair said its buying power Buying Power The money an investor has available to buy securities. In a margin account, the buying power is the total cash held in the brokerage account plus maximum margin available. Also referred to as "Excess Equity. would give Aer Lingus added negotiating strength to buy new planes either from Ryanair's preferred supplier Boeing or from Aer Lingus's usual supplier Airbus. Oct 5, 2006 Ryanair will launch 10 new routes from its Nottingham East Midlands The East Midlands is one of the regions of England and consists of most of the eastern half of the traditional region of the Midlands. It consists of the combined area of Derbyshire, Leicestershire, Rutland, Northamptonshire, Nottinghamshire and most of Lincolnshire. base to Alghero, Bratislava, Granada, Inverness, Knock, Krakow, Milan, Pisa, Santiago and Valencia from February, bringing its total routes from the airport to 27. It will base three additional 737-800s at NEMA NEMA National Electrical Manufacturers Association NEMA National Emergency Management Agency NEMA National Emergency Management Association NEMA Nottingham East Midlands Airport (UK) and expects to carry 1.8 million passengers there in 2007. Oct 6, 2006 Ryanair Holdings said it hedged its fuel requirements for January-March 2007 at a rate equivalent to $73 per barrel of Brent crude Brent Crude is one of the major classifications of oil consisting of Brent Crude, Brent Sweet Light Crude, Oseberg and Forties. Brent Crude is sourced from the North Sea. The Brent Crude oil marker is also known as Brent Blend, London Brent and Brent petroleum. . The LCC (Leadless Chip Carrier, Leaded Chip Carrier) See leadless chip carrier, CLCC and PLCC. 1. LCC - Language for Conversational Computing. Written at CMU in the 1960's. hedged most of its requirements to the end of 2006 at $74 a barrel. Oct 5, 2006 Ryanair transported 3.5 million passengers in September, up 14.5% from the year-ago month. Load factor fell 1 point to 86%. Oct 5, 2006 Ryanair is now claiming to be Ireland's national airline and has announced the introduction of four new routes from Dublin in 2007 as well as starting a daily service from Derry to Prestwick on December 5 this year. The new destinations from Dublin are Alghero (Sardinia) twice weekly from December, Fuerteventura (Canary Islands Canary Islands, Span. Islas Canarias, group of seven islands (1990 pop. 1,589,403), 2,808 sq mi (7,273 sq km), autonomous region of Spain, in the Atlantic Ocean off Western Sahara. They constitute two provinces of Spain. Santa Cruz de Tenerife (1990 pop. ) three times weekly from December, Tenerife (Canary Islands) four times weekly from December, and Trapani (Scilly) twice weekly in February. http://ryanair.com Oct 2, 2006 Ryanair Orders 32 Boeing 737s. Budget airline Ryanair ordered 32 Boeing 737-800s on Friday worth USD$2.25 billion at list prices for deliveries beginning in 2008. The orders are from options Ryanair held on buying the popular single-aisle planes. The airline has ordered 281 of the 737 airliner to date. Oct 2, 2006 Editor: Aram Gesar, eMail: edit@AirGuideOnline.com For more global news, reviews, features and analysis, please go to: http://www.airguideonline.com/onlinenews.htm To Subscribe to our Newsletters: http://www.airguideonline.com/order_formsubs.htm#news To Advertise: advert@AirGuideOnline.com Oct 2, 2006 |
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