Securities Update

In recent months there has been substantial increase in IPO and related activity including the following cases in which A & L Goodbody was involved:

Ryanair Flotation

Ryanair Holdings Plc, an independent Irish airline company, floated on the Irish Stock Exchange and on NASDAQ in May of this year, with the company raising over US$90,000,000 for repayment of debt and working capital purposes. Some US$57,000,000 was raised by selling shareholders. Ryanair was the first Irish company to effect a simultaneous listing on NASDAQ and the Irish Stock Exchange.

An interesting and unusual feature of the transaction was the need to combine the specific and detailed requirements of U.S. law and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission with the separate requirements of Irish law and the Irish Stock Exchange. The fact that the airline industry is very heavily regulated necessitated extensive consideration of the regulatory aspects of the company's business.