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Aer Rianta flotation possible

February 16, 2011

By Staff Reporter

By Andrew Bushe

DUBLIN — The Irish government is expected to sanction a partial flotation of Aer Rianta, the state-owned airport company, on the stock market in the next few weeks. The sale is not expected to take place for about three years.

A review of Aer Rianta’s strategic options by London consultants Warburg Dillon Read recommended a share offering to give the company access to development and investment cash that was not available from the government.

The government has yet to decide on how much of the company to sell, though Public Enterprise Minister Mary O’Rourke favors 30 percent.

The consultants also recommended that Aer Rianta sell the eight Great Southern Hotels, as the group is not a core business.

The minister said she had not made up her mind on this issue yet. Many of the hotels need refurbishment and have not been valued either individually or as a group.

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The consultants questioned the projected £520 million cost of Aer Rianta’s investment program up to 2003. It suggested £166 million of this merited re-examination as it could be raised from third parties, postponed or dropped.

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