Ryanair buys Niki Lauda airline in rare foray into dealmaking

Ryanair Holdings agreed to buy an Austrian airline from former Formula One motor-racing champion Niki Lauda, only the second acquisition in the Irish carrier’s history. The low-cost giant will pay Lauda less than E50m for a majority stake in LaudaMotion, which retook control of carrier Niki just two months ago following the insolvency of Air Berlin. The aviation entrepreneur paid about the same for the whole airline as Ryanair plans to spend on a 75% stake in the holding company. The deal is Ryanair’s first since it bought the UK’s Buzz from KLM in 2003, only to close the carrier down a year later. Since then it’s tried and failed to take over Aer Lingus and last year was a potential bidder for Air Berlin, before pulling out of an auction it claimed was rigged in favor of Lufthansa. Lauda will become chairman of LaudaMotion and will oversee the rebuilding of Niki, Ryanair said in a statement Tuesday. The Dublin-based company will provide an additional E50m in funds to get the carrier up and running, alongside management support and six aircraft. The airline’s fleet will grow to at least 30 and it should reach profitability by the third year of operations, Ryanair said. Ryanair will initially buy almost 25% of LaudaMotion, with a plan to increase ownership to 75% over time.<br/>