Mr James Osborne and Mr Ray MacSharry, non-executive directors of Ryanair, at yesterday's extraordinary general meeting in Dublin. Photograph: David Sleator
Ryanair has placed 21 million shares at 550p each and will take a listing on the London Stock Exchange on Monday. The placing, which was five times oversubscribed, will raise £50 million for the airline.
The placing comprised approximately nine million new shares and 12 million ordinary shares which were being sold by existing shareholders. The shareholders who sold part of their stakes were the Ryan family, chairman, Mr David Bonderman, and chief executive, Mr Michael O'Leary.
The Ryan family, whose shares are held in a family trust, made £20.9 million from the sale. Mr Bonderman and his fellow investors, through the company, Irish Air, which sold 2.4 per cent of the airline, also realised £20.9 million. Mr O'Leary realised £10.5 million.
There is also an over-allotment option which allows the underwriters to buy 2.3 million shares at the placing price. These shares are being sold by existing shareholders and will earn them a further £12.7 million. Shareholders at a Ryanair e.g.m. yesterday approved the issue of the new shares as well as a proposed aircraft acquisition.
Meanwhile, speaking after the e.g.m., Ryanair executives said they were puzzled about the announcement by Virgin Express another low-cost operator which said it would be setting up in Ireland and transferring some of its operations from Brussels.
Ryanair executives said they found it difficult to see how the airline could still be based mainly in Brussels, with its pilots working out of Brussels and be tax resident in Ireland.
Director, Mr James Osborne said it might be a "ruse" to get a better deal out of the Belgian government. Virgin has complained about the high cost of doing business in Belgium, including high tax rates.
Mr Michael Cawley, Ryanair's chief financial officer, said he doubted that Virgin would compete with Ryanair on the DublinBrussels or Dublin-London routes. If it did, Ryanair would reduce fares further, he said.
Mr Cawley said the DublinLondon route was the busiest route in Europe and might be attractive because of that, but it was also the most competitive. Anyone starting airline operations in the low-cost sector would be mad to start from Ireland, he said.
Mr Cawley said Ryanair had concluded deals with six new airports to fly to those destinations and was currently in negotiations with up to 30 airports. However, Mr Cawley said Ryanair would not launch any new routes from Ireland until it got a better deal from Aer Rianta.
Ryanair has been a constant critic of Aer Rianta's airport charges; earlier this week, Aer Rianta hit back, saying it had given Ryanair £24 million in levy rebates in the last four years.
Mr Cawley said the company got no money back "the cost was less because we delivered the growth in passenger numbers by reaching certain targets, as other airlines did".
Mr Cawley said yesterday that duty free would be abolished next year and Aer Rianta had not developed a strategy to make up the earnings shortfall elsewhere. Instead, he said, the State operator had said it would lead to increased charges.
