Call on Aer Lingus to explain Mannion's 'Failur...
RYANAIR CALLS ON AER LINGUS BOARD TO EXPLAIN
MANNION'S ¤2.8 MILLION 'FAILURE BONUS'
[IF AER LINGUS HAS AN 'INDEPENDENT' FUTURE,
WHY HAS MANNION A LIFEBOAT WITH ¤2.8 MILLION OF SHAREHOLDERS CASH]
Ryanair today (Sunday, 4th Jan 2009) called on the Board of Aer
Lingus to explain why Aer Lingus' CEO Dermot Mannion has recently
been granted an indefensible and unprecedented ¤2.8 million 'Failure
Bonus', if Aer Lingus undergoes a change of control. Ryanair called
this 'Failure Bonus' unprecedented, because it is not compensation
for loss of office, but rather a spectacular secret bonus, which can
be triggered by Dermot Mannion himself should he choose to resign
immediately following a change of control of Aer Lingus. Ryanair
believes that this secret 'Failure Bonus' should be put to all
shareholders for approval at Aer Lingus' next AGM, which will allow
all shareholders (including Government, ESOT, Tailwinds and Ryanair)
to consider whether Mr. Mannion, who has delivered substantial
operating losses in two of the last three years (2006 and 2008),
should be able to trigger such an excessively generous 'Failure
Bonus'.
Commenting on today's Sunday Independent scoop, Ryanair's Chief
Executive Michael O'Leary, said:
"It is extraordinary at a time when Aer Lingus is cutting jobs and
cutting pay, that it is doing a secret deal with Dermot Mannion to
award him a ¤2.8 million 'Failure Bonus', which he alone can trigger
simply by resigning.
"This secretly negotiated ¤2.8 million deal proves that Dermot
Mannion has no faith in Aer Lingus' future as an independent
airline. If Dermot Mannion and the Aer Lingus Board really believed
that Aer Lingus has an 'independent' future, then they wouldn't be
secretly stuffing ¤2.8 million of shareholders cash into Dermot
Mannion's resignation lifeboat.
"The recently departed FAS Chief Executive received deserved
criticism for his ¤500,000 resignation pay off. He looks to have
been short-changed by comparison with the almost ¤3 million failure
bonus, which Dermot Mannion has secretly negotiated and can trigger
simply by resigning. I know of no other plc, which while cutting pay
and jobs, is at the same time stuffing the Chief Executives lifeboat
with ¤2.8 million of shareholders cash.
"The Board of Aer Lingus must explain this unprecedented, unjustified
extraordinary secret deal to all shareholders".
Ends.
Sunday, 4th January 2009
Enquiries:
Ryanair +353
1 812 1212
Howard Millar
Davy Corporate Finance +353 1 679 7788
(Financial Adviser to Ryanair)
Eugenée Mulhern
Brian Garrahy
Morgan Stanley +44 20
7425 5000
(Financial Adviser to Ryanair)
Colm Donlon
Adrian Doyle
Murray Consultants +353 1 498
0300
(Public Relations Advisers to Ryanair)
Pauline McAlester
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Defined terms used in this announcement have the same meaning as in
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should inform themselves about and observe any applicable
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The directors of Ryanair and Coinside accept responsibility for the
information contained in this announcement, save that the only
responsibility accepted by the directors of Ryanair and Coinside in
respect of the information in this announcement relating to Aer
Lingus, the Aer Lingus Group, the directors of Aer Lingus and persons
connected with them, which has been compiled from published sources,
has been to ensure that such information has been correctly and
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Coinside (who have taken all reasonable care to ensure that such is
the case), the information contained in this announcement for which
they accept responsibility is in accordance with the facts and does
not omit anything likely to affect the import of such information.
The sources and bases for information in this announcement common to
that contained in the announcement issued by Ryanair on 1 December,
2008 ("2.5 Announcement" ) and Ryanair's Offer Document dated 15
December 2008 ("The Offer Document") are set out in the 2.5
Announcement and The Offer Document. The source for the amount of
¤2.8 million is the Sunday Independent article (Dated 4 January 2009,
Page 23).
This announcement does not constitute an offer to sell or an
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solicitation of an offer to purchase or subscribe for any
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or any document by which the Offer is made.
This announcement includes certain 'forward looking statements' with
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and their respective expectations relating to the Cash Offer and
their future financial condition and performance. Statements that are
not historical facts, including statements about Ryanair or Aer
Lingus or Ryanair's management's beliefs and expectations, are
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or the combined business following the Cash Offer; statements about
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of the combined group; or an inability to implement the strategy of
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announcement. Additional factors that could cause actual results to
differ materially from forward looking statements are set out in the
most recent annual reports and accounts of Ryanair and Aer Lingus,
including Ryanair's most recent annual report on Form 20-F filed with
the SEC.
Forward-looking statements only speak as of the date on which they
are made, and the events discussed in this announcement may not
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neither Ryanair nor Coinside undertakes any obligation to update
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Any person who is the holder of 1 per cent. or more of any class of
shares in Aer Lingus or Ryanair may be required to make disclosures
pursuant to Rule 8.3 of the Takeover Rules with effect from 1
December, 2008 the date of the announcement which commenced the Offer
Period in respect of the Offer.
---END OF MESSAGE---
This announcement was originally distributed by Hugin. The issuer is
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