Aer Lingus has confirmed that it will lodge its formal appeal with the EU Court of First Instance in Luxembourg as part of the legal process towards removing Ryanair from its shareholder register.
If successful, the appeal will enable the EU Commission to order Ryanair to dispose of its stake in Aer Lingus. The formal appeal follows the EU Commission's recent decision that it does not have the legal authority to force Ryanair to sell its shares under merger regulation.
Aer Lingus said that morning that it has also asked the court - as a matter of urgency - to make an order to stop Ryanair from interfering in the running of the airline's business pending judgement on the appeal.
'Aer Lingus is forging ahead with its plans for growth and refuses to be undermined by its competitor,' commented John Sharman, Aer Lingus Chairman.
Ryanair has responded to the development by saying that the European Commission has already stated that there are no legal grounds for a compulsory disposal.
Ryanair's Head of Communications, Peter Sherrard said: 'This appeal would seem to be another smokescreen from the board of Aer Lingus to distract from its awful performance over the past 12 months.
'Aer Lingus's share price closed last week at €2.15, almost 25% lower than Ryanair's €2.80 offer in October last year, and some 5 cent per share less than Aer Lingus's original float price in September 2006.
'It is clear that the market has little faith in the board of Aer Lingus, who last year advised shareholders to reject an offer of €2.80, but have presided over the withdrawal of its Dubai route, a succession of labour problems and the collapse in its share price,' he added.
