Ryanair agreed in March to take a 24.9% stake in the Austrian carrier.
Ryanair has agreed an option with Niki Lauda that could see it take full ownership of the Laudamotion leisure airline in four years, the company said today.
Ryanair is waiting for European regulatory approval to take a 75% stake in the re-branded former Niki airline, the remains of which the former Formula One star bought out of insolvency earlier this year.
Ryanair agreed in March to take a 24.9% stake in the Austrian carrier and said it planned to raise that to 75% as soon as possible.
Lauda and Ryanair also agreed an option that allows Ryanair to buy the rest of Laudamotion as well, a Ryanair spokeswoman said, confirming a report by Austrian daily Kurier.
Chief executive Michael O’Leary said he would have to pay a “weirdly high price” if he decided to do so, according to the paper.
Ryanair said it hoped for the nod from Brussels for the 75% stake purchase in the coming weeks.
With the acquisition, the budget airline secures its foothold in Austria, which has become a rapidly expanding hub for eastern European destinations.
To help Laudamotion to deal with a recent rise in oil prices and become profitable, Ryanair is prepared to increase its investment in the carrier by €20m, to take it to €120m, it said.
Laudamotion will start flying from Vienna on Saturday after starting from Germany in March and from Basel in Switzerland in April.
The airline, which mainly flies to tourist destinations in Europe, will have four planes stationed in the Austrian capital in the summer season and plans to double that for winter, Lauda said last week.
Ryanair said it planned to expand in Vienna in the coming years and build up a base with up to 50 planes.
Germany’s Lufthansa currently has around 90 planes stationed in the Austrian capital. The former Niki airline had 21 carriers in Vienna at its high point.
Earlier, Ryanair said it had appointed Carol Sharkey as its Chief Risk Officer.
Newly appointed Ryanair Chief Risk Officer, Carol Sharkey
Carol Sharkey, who is currently Ryanair’s Director of Safety and Security, will assume responsibility for all of Ryanair’s operational risk assessment and will report directly to Michael O’Leary.
She has worked at Ryanair since 1995 having previously held roles in inflight, flight operations and in recent years has overseen the flight safety department.
