Ryanair shows interest in bidding for Air Berlin

Bloomberg

Ryanair Holdings Plc said it’s “genuinely interested” in bidding for insolvent Air Berlin
Plc and called on the German company to involve it in the
sale process.
Ryanair could buy all or part of Air Berlin but has so far been ignored by the ailing carrier, according to Chief Executive Officer Michael O’Leary, who said he’s concerned the company will be handed to Deutsche Lufthansa AG in an anti-competitive, all-German deal.
While Ryanair has generally eschewed takeovers and pursued market share through organic growth and cut-price fares, an exception could be made for Air Berlin given its strong position in Europe’s largest economy, O’Leary said. He didn’t comment on whether Ryanair has any interest in its long-haul routes.
“There are not that many carriers with 25 percent of the German market that have come up for sale,” O’Leary said in an interview. “There are lots of other airlines that would be interested in Air Berlin if this was an arms-length, transparent bankruptcy. But it’s very far from that.”
Air Berlin, which began flying out of West Berlin in 1978 and listed in 2006, announced it was filing for insolvency on August 15 after Etihad Airways PJSC, its largest shareholder, ended financial support. The German carrier has racked up more than $3.2 billion of losses in a little over six years.

Rush Deal
O’Leary said he’s concerned that politicians are seeking to rush through a deal with Lufthansa, where Air Berlin CEO Thomas Winkelmann worked for 18 years and queried whether the company needs a 150 million-euro loan at the height of the summer season.
The handling of Air Berlin’s insolvency contrasts with the bankruptcy of Alitalia SpA, where “everyone is able to make a binding offer,” O’Leary said. “What’s happening in Germany is the absolute opposite.”
The CEO said he’s skeptical about reports that Air Berlin’s data room has been opened to 10 airlines since it indicated in May that it needed a partner, and that Ryanair hasn’t been granted access. German airline entrepreneur Hans Rudolf Woehrl said that “until today,” Air Berlin hadn’t responded to an expression of interest from his Intro Aviation.
Lufthansa CEO Carsten Spohr said earlier he’s ready to take large numbers of Air Berlin employees, though on revised contracts. An outright merger would lift his company’s market share to 95 percent from 68 percent on domestic routes, according to Ryanair. Lufthansa has said it’s interested in about half of Air Berlin’s operations.

Air Berlin requires swift deal as prospects bad, says Germany
Bloomberg

Air Berlin Plc needs a swift deal with carriers interested in buying all or part of the insolvent German airline because its prospects look bad, German Economy Minister Brigitte Zypries said. Zypries said she was surprised by criticism of the German government’s EU150 million bridging loan to keep Air Berlin flying, telling a news conference she expects the money to be repaid.
“We hope it goes quickly, as I believe the future prospects are indeed bad, I mean, who is booking Air Berlin at the moment, even if it’s possible?” Zypries said in Berlin on Saturday.
She said the government had created good conditions for talks on the airline’s future and that there were “enough interested parties,” including Lufthansa, EasyJet, Ryanair and German aviation entrepreneur Hans Rudolf Woehrl.
Air Berlin filed for insolvency on August 15 when main shareholder Etihad Airways PJSC withdrew financial support.