Those investors who were in a hurry to spend the proceeds of their sale of Aer Lingus shares will have to wait a few more weeks - IAG has extended its offer €1.4bn offer into August after Ryanair failed to respond by yesterday’s latest offer deadline.

In a statement, a Ryanair spokesman pointed out that as the airline hadn’t expected to receive the proceeds of the sale of its near 30 percent stake, it wouldn’t formally submit its signed acceptance of the IAG offer until mid-August.

IAG says it has received acceptances equivalent to 62.5 percent of Aer Lingus’s shareholding, so Ryanair’s formal response will push it above the 90 percent acceptance threshold allowing it compulsorily acquire any shareholders who have still not accepted at that stage.

The group released quarterly results today, and reported a stronger-than-expected 40 percent rise in profits which put it on track to meet its annual targets.