IAG CEO says hopeful Ryanair will find offer for Aer Lingus attractive

British Airways-owner IAG, in the process of trying to acquire Irish airline Aer Lingus (Other OTC: AELGF - news) , is hopeful that Ryanair, a major shareholder in Aer Lingus, will see its offer as attractive, said IAG's chief executive.

IAG's takeover of Aer Lingus moved a step closer on Tuesday after the Irish government, another major shareholder in the Irish airline, gave its backing to the deal.

"We're hopeful that Ryanair will see this as an attractive offer for their stake in Aer Lingus and we will wait to see what Ryanair and the Ryanair board says in response to this," IAG's CEO Willie Walsh told investors on a call on Wednesday.

IAG has now formally launched its 1.36 billion euro ($1.48 billion) bid for Aer Lingus, but the deal is still conditional upon winning support from Ryanair which owns 30 percent of Aer Lingus.

IAG is due to issue its offer document within 28 days, following which time Ryanair is likely to respond, said Walsh.

"They've (Ryanair) been absolutely consistent throughout in stating that the board of Ryanair would consider any offer if and when the offer was made. I'm sure they will wait to see the formal offer documentation and give that documentation very careful consideration," he said.

(Reporting by Sarah Young; Editing by Victoria Bryan)