The European Commission’s August 29 decision to launch a full probe into Ryanair’s proposed takeover of Aer Lingus appears to mean that all bets are off in terms of the long-term ownership of the Irish flag carrier. Under stock market rules, Ryanair’s bid for a majority stake in Aer Lingus automatically expired with the move by regulators, who believe the resulting merger would prove anti-competitive. Ryanair has indicated its willingness to launch a new bid if EC officials clear the takeover after the investigation, which appears likely to run into next year, but anti-trust lawyers consider such an outcome doubtful. The low-cost carrier has sought to persuade other carriers to commit to operating competing services on some of the routes served by both it and Aer Lingus in a bid to establish that competition would still flourish. Aer Lingus, in which the Irish government still holds a 25-percent stake, has claimed that it competes directly with Ryanair on no fewer than 50 routes.
