Ryanair said on Wednesday it raised its stake in fellow Irish airline Aer Lingus to 29.82 percent.
Ryanair, Europe's biggest low-cost airline, said in a statement it bought an additional 3.5 million shares in Aer Lingus, bringing its total holdings in Ireland's former flag carrier to 159,231,025 shares.
Ryanair, which launched a hostile but failed takeover bid for Aer Lingus in 2008, said it had bought the shares on Wednesday but did not say how much it had paid for them.
Shares in Aer Lingus closed down 16 percent at 1.15 euros in Dublin, while Ryanair ended 4.7 percent lower at 2.61 euros.
Ryanair's Nasdaq-listed stock was down 8 percent at USD$26.81.
