EasyJet agrees to £5.7bn takeover by US private equity firm
Guardian AU Business
•Thu, 06 Aug 2026 14:56:55 GMT
📰 What Happened
EasyJet formally agreed to a £5.7bn takeover from US private equity firm Apollo Global Management after rival bidder Castlelake walked away, declining to enter a bidding war. The deal goes through at £7.15 a share, with founder Stelios Haji-Ioannou and his family retaining their shareholding and shareholders able to sell or transfer up to 49.9%; an 'EU Trust' retains up to 5%, seemingly to comply with EU foreign-ownership rules for airlines, with completion expected by the end of March 2027.
🔍 The Backstory
Apollo tabled its £7.15-a-share offer last month after easyJet had initially recommended a sale to Castlelake. The formal agreement came 24 hours before a deadline for both parties to submit final offers, but Castlelake declined to bid higher. European airline ownership rules necessitated the complex shareholding structure limiting Apollo to 49.9%.
🎯 Why It Matters
The deal would take one of Europe's largest low-cost airlines into private ownership, a landmark for the European aviation sector and a test of foreign private-equity involvement in EU carriers. The outcome for jobs, routes and competition, as well as whether regulators impose conditions, will shape the airline's future.
EasyJet formally agreed to a £5.7bn takeover from US private equity firm Apollo Global Management after rival bidder Castlelake walked away, declining to enter a bidding war. The deal goes through at £7.15 a share, with founder Stelios Haji-Ioannou and his family retaining their shareholding and shareholders able to sell or transfer up to 49.9%; an 'EU Trust' retains up to 5%, seemingly to comply with EU foreign-ownership rules for airlines, with completion expected by the end of March 2027.
Apollo tabled its £7.15-a-share offer last month after easyJet had initially recommended a sale to Castlelake. The formal agreement came 24 hours before a deadline for both parties to submit final offers, but Castlelake declined to bid higher. European airline ownership rules necessitated the complex shareholding structure limiting Apollo to 49.9%.
The deal would take one of Europe's largest low-cost airlines into private ownership, a landmark for the European aviation sector and a test of foreign private-equity involvement in EU carriers. The outcome for jobs, routes and competition, as well as whether regulators impose conditions, will shape the airline's future.