O'Leary cashes in 5m shares

Ryanair chief executive Michael O'Leary is understood to have sold 5 million shares in the airline towards the end of this week, yielding almost €19m. O'Leary is the biggest single individual shareholder in the airline, holding 65m shares at the end of FY 2008. Shares in Ryanair closed yesterday at €3.755, relatively undisturbed by the sale.

Meanwhile over at Aer Lingus shares in the airline closed down almost 10% yesterday at €0.65 after the airline's chairman Colm Barrington told shareholders at the AGM that it faced it's most difficult period since it started trading 73 years ago. At the meeting Mr. Barrington was pressed by shareholders and reporters as to why he doesn't own shares in the airline. 'What I buy for my own portfolio is my own business', he said, adding that his commitment to the airline should not be determined on the basis of his shareholding or non shareholding in the company.