Shares in German airline Air Berlin jumped as much as 8.7% this morning on market rumours of acquisition interest from Europe's largest budget airline Ryanair.
Air Berlin said it was not aware of any takeover interest from Ryanair. 'Ryanair has a policy of not commenting on market rumours or speculation,' said a spokesman for Ryanair.
In May, the chief executive of Air Berlin said he was keeping an eye on the consolidating European airline market after snapping up German rivals recently to expand its network with domestic and intercontinental routes.
The airline listed on the German stock exchange a year ago. Its shares were up just over 5% in Frankfurt this afternoon.
