Testing the limits: Ryanair/Aer Lingus and the boundaries of merger control

Abstract

Between the summer of 2007 and the autumn of 2015 Ryanair made repeated and determined attempts either to acquire the entirety of Aer Lingus or to defend the acquisition of a minority shareholding in the company. Aer Lingus in turn made repeated and determined efforts to defend itself against an unwanted acquisition. The litigation ceased only at the point where an alternative bid for Aer Lingus was accepted. During this process the difference in the ability of the EU and Member States to exercise control over minority shareholding acquisitions was thrown into sharp relief, and the UK courts discussed the relationship between the exercise of UK merger control and EU merger control. This article explores various aspects of this chain of decisions and litigation.