Irish budget carrier Ryanair has submitted a non-binding bid for struggling Italian airline Alitalia, its chief financial officer said yesterday.

Alitalia filed in May to be put under special administration for the second time in less than a decade, starting a process that will lead to the airline being overhauled, sold off or wound up.

It received about ten non-binding offers by a Friday deadline, a source told Reuters.

“We put a non-binding bid in,” chief financial officer Neil Sorahan told Reuters. “I can’t say much more other than we think it is right to be involved in the process.”

Chief executive Michael O’Leary in June said Ryanair would seek a majority stake in Alitalia if it decides to invest.

But at other times he has indicated he was keen on cooperating with the business rather than buying it and was more interested in participating in the sales process than buying it.