Aer Lingus shares have dropped by more than five per cent in afternoon trading.
The reduction in value followed news that the takeover proposal by the International Consolidated Airlines Group (IAG) had been rejected by the Aer Lingus board.
Shares of Aer Lingus declined 5.6 per cent to €2.36, in morning trading in Dublin on Monday.
Any proposal to purchase the airline would also need the approval of the discount carrier Ryanair (which holds a 29.8-per-cent stake in Aer Lingus ) as well as the Irish government, which has a 25.1-per-cent stake; Ryanair has already made three unsuccessful takeover offers for Aer Lingus.
IAG is among the world’s largest airline groups, carrying more than 77.3 million passengers in 2014. Its portfolio of carriers includes British Airways and two Spanish carriers – Iberia, a full-service airline, and Vueling Airlines, a low-cost carrier.
