The Irish government is not yet convinced by a bid from the owner of British Airways for its 25 per cent stake in former state airline Aer Lingus, the country’s transport minister was quoted as saying yesterday.

Aer Lingus’ board last week recommended a €1.36 billion offer from International Consolidated Airlines Group (IAG), subject to the agreement of its two largest shareholders: budget airline Ryanair and the Irish state.

The government has previously said it is looking for guarantees that the airline will not reduce services to Irish airports or significantly cut staff numbers.

“We as a shareholder remain to be convinced regarding the merits of what they’re putting forward,” Transport Minister Paschal Donohoe was quoted as saying by the Irish Independent newspaper after a second meeting between IAG and representatives of the government.

The government is in the process of clarifying matters relating to the offer and it was unclear when a final decision will be made, Donohoe said.

Sign up to our free newsletters

Get the best updates straight to your inbox:
Please select at least one mailing list.

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By subscribing, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing.