The next milestone in any deal is on Wednesday. That is the deadline for the European Commission’s competition directorate to decide whether to give approval for the merger, which is expected.
The following day Aer Lingus shareholders will convene at a hotel in Santry. They will be asked to approve the terms of the IAG offer. IAG needs 90 per cent to accept its offer to oblige all shareholders to sell. If it does not reach this threshold it needs to gain control of at least 75 per cent to delist the shares. Once, as expected, they gets the imprimatur from shareholders, Aer Lingus and IAG management will enter intensive discussions on implementing the merger.
Once the European Commission is satisfied that the proposed competition remedies have been implemented, it is likely that Aer Lingus could be flying under the IAG banner by the autumn.
