Ryanair would want majority stake if opts to bid for Alitalia

Ryanair would seek a majority stake in Alitalia if it decides to invest in the loss-making airline, its CE said Tuesday. 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. "In case of an acquisition, we would be interested in a majority stake, not a minority one," Ryanair CE Michael O'Leary said. "We are not interested in a 49% stake." Ryanair had already expressed an interest in Alitalia, but previously stressed it was keen on cooperating with the business rather than buying it. Ryanair had also said it wanted to provide short-haul traffic to feed Alitalia's long-haul network and offered to deploy aircraft this summer if the Italian carrier cut capacity significantly. <br/>