The UK’s competition court, the Competition Appeal Tribunal, has ruled that the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) can continue investigating Ryanair’s minority shareholding in Aer Lingus.

Ryanair initially acquired a stake in Aer Lingus in late 2006 and currently owns 29.82% of the airline. Following the termination of the European Commission’s investigation into Ryanair’s shareholding and related litigation, the OFT launched a merger investigation into Ryanair’s minority stake in Aer Lingus in October 2010.

Ryanair challenged the OFT investigation on the grounds that the OFT was out of time to investigate the merger. On 28 July 2011, the Competition Appeal Tribunal ruled that the OFT was in time to review Ryanair’s minority shareholding in Aer Lingus. Ryanair has announced its intention to appeal the ruling.

To view an earlier article on the OFT’s investigation into Ryanair’s shareholding, please click here.

Contributed by Claire Waterson.

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