Ryanair Holdings has confirmed that it will undertake its previously announced transition to a group structure over the next twelve months.
"We are moving towards a Group structure, which is planned along similar lines of IAG International Airlines Group," chief executive Michael O'Leary said in an earnings call. "A very senior management team will oversee the development of four separate airline subsidiaries, Ryanair (Ireland), LaudaMotion (Austria), Ryanair Sun (Poland), and Ryanair UK."
Each of the airlines will have their own CEOs and management teams with O'Leary to transition to the role of Group CEO. The group structure will allow for efficient capital allocation, cost reductions, aircraft acquisitions, and small scale mergers and acquisitions (M&A) opportunities.
Commenting on Ryanair's search for other opportunities akin to its recent buyout of Laudamotion, O'Leary said airlines being targetted are small-scale operators in regions with strong future growth potential.
"We would look at small-scale M&A where there’s an opportunity to take over what are not necessarily shell companies but very small AOCs, one or two small AOCs, where we can reverse some of our organic growth into those AOCs and that would make sense from our point of view in places like Ryanair Sun," he said.
"To put that in some perspective, in Poland, for example, Ryanair Sun had a very successful first year in the Polish charter market, but it is now taking over Ryanair scheduled flying in the Polish market and it’s doing that because there are tax advantages for our Polish pilots and Polish cabin crew moving to the same type of contract employment that LOT, the national airline in Poland has promoted."
