Aer Lingus 'to float on London Stock Exchange tomorrow'
Aer Lingus was today said to be preparing to float on the London Stock Exchange.
The Sunday Times said the airline will confirm plans for a London listing tomorrow that will value the firm at up to £810m (€1.2bn).
The move would signal the end of lengthy negotiations between the Government, airline management and unions over the future of Aer Lingus.
Three years ago the Government, which owns 85% of the company, said it would never be sold and unions have strongly opposed the deal.
Investors in Aer Lingus could face a rocky ride as the recent terror scare has brought chaos to airports while soaring oil prices have eaten into profits margins.
But Aer Lingus chief executive Dermot Mannion was upbeat about the proposal, which he has pushed through following talks with the unions.
He told The Sunday Times: “A year ago I would not have predicted that we could have got as far as we have.
“We have got everyone pulling in the same direction and we have not had a single dispute.
“The only stoppage we had all year was for just over an hour, and that was for a meeting for workers to have the plan explained to them.”
Aer Lingus staff currently own 15% of the airline, but the stake will be diluted in the float. The Government will also sell part of its stake, according to The Sunday Times, with its holding reduced to a minimum of 25.1%.
The €500m raised from the flotation will be used to buy new planes, with Aer Lingus looking to expand its long-haul fleet from seven to 14 plans and its short-haul fleet from 28 to 46 planes.
It would be the first flotation of an airline on the main London exchange since Stelios Haji-Ioannou brought easyJet to the market six years ago.
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