22:46 ' Ploymac I cannot conceive of the circumstance where the Aer Lingus management and Ryanair would be able to work harmoniously together...this is simply a reflertion of the fact that these organisations have been competing head be like merging Manchester United and Liverpool football clubs.
22:46 ' Ploymac In fact, the bid was opposed by a loose alliance representing almost 47 per cent of Aer Lingus shares. This included the Irish government, which still retained a 25.4 per cent holding, two investment funds operated on behalf of Aer Lingus pilots accounting for about 4 per cent of shares, and Irish telecom tycoon Denis O'Brien, who bought 2.1 per cent of shares deliberately to complicate Ryanair's move. A critical 12.6 per cent of the shareholding was controlled by the Aer Lingus employee share ownership trust(ESOT), which had the right to appoint two directors, and has a stake in future profits. Its members rejected the Ryanair offer by a 97 per cent majority vote.