Ryanair Seriously Looking At Bid For Lufthansa
LONDON (Dow Jones)--Ryanair Holdings PLC (RYA.DB) Chief Executive Michael O'Leary Tuesday said the airline is seriously looking at a bid for Deutsche Lufthansa AG (LHA.XE) given its falling market capitalization, although this is unlikely in the near future.
O'Leary told reporters he expects Lufthansa to have a "bright future," adding that its service quality is good but the "air fares are too high."
He said Lufthansa is the only one of the big three airlines - namely Air France-KLM (AF.FR), Lufthansa and British Airways PLC (BAY.LN) - that he would seriously look at.
O'Leary said: "We aren't planning any bid in the near future," adding that he expects Lufthansa's share price and market capitalization to fall further.
He said Lufthansa's falling market capitalization now made Ryanair more valuable than the German carrier.
Lufthansa's market capitalization is EUR4.73 billion and its share price has fallen some 37% over the past 12 months. Ryanair's market capitalization stands at EUR5.35 billion, with its share price having increased 30% over the same period.
O'Leary said he had no intention of bidding for BA, which he described as a "pension deficit with wings."
Ryanair earlier posted a net loss for fiscal 2009, ended March 31, at EUR169.2 million, compared with a net profit of EUR390.7 million a year earlier.
-By Kaveri Niththyananthan, Dow Jones Newswires; 44-20-7842-9399; .niththyananthan@dowjones.com
LONDON (Dow Jones)--Ryanair Holdings PLC (RYA.DB) Chief Executive Michael O'Leary Tuesday said the airline is seriously looking at a bid for Deutsche Lufthansa AG (LHA.XE) given its falling market capitalization, although this is unlikely in the near future.
O'Leary told reporters he expects Lufthansa to have a "bright future," adding that its service quality is good but the "air fares are too high."
He said Lufthansa is the only one of the big three airlines - namely Air France-KLM (AF.FR), Lufthansa and British Airways PLC (BAY.LN) - that he would seriously look at.
O'Leary said: "We aren't planning any bid in the near future," adding that he expects Lufthansa's share price and market capitalization to fall further.
He said Lufthansa's falling market capitalization now made Ryanair more valuable than the German carrier.
Lufthansa's market capitalization is EUR4.73 billion and its share price has fallen some 37% over the past 12 months. Ryanair's market capitalization stands at EUR5.35 billion, with its share price having increased 30% over the same period.
O'Leary said he had no intention of bidding for BA, which he described as a "pension deficit with wings."
Ryanair earlier posted a net loss for fiscal 2009, ended March 31, at EUR169.2 million, compared with a net profit of EUR390.7 million a year earlier.
-By Kaveri Niththyananthan, Dow Jones Newswires; 44-20-7842-9399; .niththyananthan@dowjones.com
