16th Nov 2006 17:06
Aer Lingus Group PLC16 November 2006 Not for release, publication or distribution, in whole or in part, in or into or from Australia, Canada, Japan, South Africa or the United States or any other jurisdiction where it would be unlawful to do so FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CLARIFICATION OF STATEMENTS MADE In relation to the offer made by Ryanair on 23 October 2006 for whole of theissued and to be issued share capital of Aer Lingus Group plc not already ownedby Ryanair (the "Offer"), the Participating Directors wish to clarify thatcertain remarks made by Mr. Mannion to the media on 3 November 2006 in relationto Aer Lingus not approving a Ryanair bid or any other offer for Aer Lingus weremade only in respect of the Offer. The Participating Directors are only able toconsider formal proposals when made and at that time will take such action as isin the best interests of the Company. This clarification is being made at the request of the Irish Takeover Panelfollowing a determination by it that certain comments made by Mr. Mannionbreached Rule 19.6(b) of the Irish Takeover Rules, which states that neither anofferor nor the offeree nor any representative of either of them shall duringthe course of an offer release any new information bearing on the offer orcontemplated offer in any interview or discussion with the media. Date: 16 November 2006 The Participating Directors of Aer Lingus accept responsibility for theinformation contained in this announcement. To the best of the knowledge andbelief of the Participating Directors (having taken all reasonable care toensure that such is the case), the information contained in this announcement isin accordance with the facts and does not omit anything likely to affect itsimport. The "Participating Directors" means all of the directors of Aer Lingusother than Mr Francis Hackett and Mr Michael Johns. Mr Hackett and Mr Johns are not, for the time being, participating in theBoard's consideration of the Offer and related matters because the ParticipatingDirectors have concluded that it would be in the best interests of the Companyand its shareholders as a whole if, for the time being, the Directors appointedby the Minister for Transport and the Aer Lingus Employee Share Ownership Trustrespectively, did not so participate. Aer Lingus is being advised by Goldman Sachs International, Merrion StockbrokersLimited and Goodbody Stockbrokers in relation to the Offer. Goldman Sachs International, which is authorised and regulated in the UnitedKingdom by the Financial Services Authority, is acting exclusively for AerLingus Group plc and no one else in connection with the Offer by RyanairHoldings plc and will not be responsible to anyone other than Aer Lingus Groupplc for providing the protections afforded to customers of Goldman SachsInternational or for providing advice in relation to the Offer by RyanairHoldings plc or the contents of this announcement. Merrion Stockbrokers Limited, which is regulated in Ireland by the FinancialRegulator, is acting exclusively for Aer Lingus Group plc and no one else inconnection with the Offer by Ryanair Holdings plc and will not be responsible toanyone other than Aer Lingus Group plc for providing the protections afforded tocustomers of Merrion Stockbrokers Limited or for providing advice in relation tothe Offer by Ryanair Holdings plc or the contents of this announcement. Goodbody Stockbrokers, which is regulated in Ireland by the Financial Regulator,is acting exclusively for Aer Lingus Group plc and no one else in connectionwith the Offer by Ryanair Holdings plc and will not be responsible to anyoneother than Aer Lingus Group plc for providing the protections afforded tocustomers of Goodbody Stockbrokers or for providing advice in relation to theOffer by Ryanair Holdings plc or the contents of this announcement. Any person who is the holder of 1 per cent. or more of any class of shares inAer Lingus Group plc or Ryanair Holdings plc may be required to make disclosurespursuant to Rule 8.3 of the Irish Takeover Panel Act, 1997, Takeover Rules 2001to 2005, as applied, with amendments by the European Communities (Takeover Bids(Directive 2004/25/EC)) Regulations 2006. This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock ExchangeRelated Shares:
RYA.L