The founder of British airline easyJet said today he had no current plan to take the company private but did not rule out the move in the future.
Mr Stelios Haji-Ioannour, the major shareholder, said buying out easyJet would be an extreme measure at this stage but said he kept his investment in the company under review, with all sensible options considered from time to time.
"While we will continue to support the board at this time, if there were a further deterioration in the share price, deviations from what we understand to be the board's plans to improve shareholder value or other material changes in circumstances, we would obviously be free to take a different line," he said in a statement.
Last week, easyGroup confirmed that Mr Haji-Ioannou was considering taking the airline private but said no final decision had been reached.
EasyJet shares fell sharply in June after it warned that 2004 pre-tax profits were likely to be below earlier forecasts, due to high oil prices and the price war with fellow budget airline Ryanair. The stock has halved in value since the beginning of the year.
Mr Haji-Ioannou's company easyGroup and members of his family hold about 41 per cent of the shares in easyJet. The entrepreneur has been selling down his stake to fund other projects since stepping down as chairman in 2002.
Some analysts say taking easyJet private would allow the firm to sit out a period of high fuel prices and competition with dozens of new budget airlines that have eaten into company profits in the past two years.
But others say the well-established player is in a strong position to weather any shake-ups in the European budget airline sector.