RYANAIR HAS lodged a complaint with the Irish Takeover Panel over claims made by Aer Lingus in a stock exchange announcement issued yesterday that its proposed takeover by Ryanair was not capable of being completed.

In the announcement, Aer Lingus confirmed it had met Ryanair representatives on Tuesday and said it had explained how the bid "fundamentally undervalues the airline, its robust financial position; ignores the substantial competition issues and is therefore not capable of completion". Ryanair said these claims were false and in breach of takeover rules.

In a statement, Ryanair chief executive Michael O'Leary said: "Contrary to Aer Lingus's false claims, there is no prohibition in place on the current offer, a point that was clearly addressed by the European Commission in June 2007 when Commissioner Nellie Kroes stated, 'the European Commission does not rule out a future merger between Ryanair Holdings plc and Aer Lingus Group plc under the right conditions'.

"The reality is that the new Ryanair offer is capable of completion, and Aer Lingus's claims to the contrary are false and in breach of takeover rules." Ryanair has already complained about the manner in which Aer Lingus chief executive Dermot Mannion had the terms of his employment contract changed in October with recourse to shareholders.