Apollo Global Management has agreed to buy easyJet in a £5.7 billion all-cash deal, ending a bidding contest that briefly pitted the New York private equity giant against rival suitor Castlelake for control of Britain's second-largest budget airline.
Under the terms of the agreed offer, Apollo will pay 715 pence a share in cash, valuing the airline at a level roughly 81% above easyJet's closing price of 394 pence on May 28, the last trading day before the company entered its formal offer period. The scale of that premium reflects the intensity of the bidding contest that unfolded over the following weeks, according to the BBC.
Castlelake, a Minneapolis-based investment firm, had earlier tabled a rival offer of 690 pence a share. That approach was overtaken when Apollo returned with a higher bid, and Castlelake subsequently confirmed it was withdrawing from the process rather than continue to compete, clearing the way for easyJet's board to back Apollo's proposal.
The contest between the two private equity houses played out over several weeks, with each successive bid pushing the implied value of easyJet higher. That dynamic left the airline's board weighing not only price but also the certainty of a deal proceeding smoothly through shareholder and regulatory approval, factors that ultimately favoured Apollo's higher, unopposed offer once Castlelake stepped back.
Board Backing, Shareholder Vote Ahead
EasyJet's directors have unanimously recommended that shareholders accept the Apollo offer, according to Euronews, which reported that Apollo's late intervention effectively hijacked a process that had appeared close to concluding with Castlelake. The takeover still requires formal approval from easyJet shareholders as well as clearance from competition and aviation regulators before it can be completed.
Executives have not disclosed detailed plans for the airline's structure once it leaves public markets, though a takeover of this size would end more than two decades of easyJet's presence on the London Stock Exchange, where it listed in 2000 and grew into one of Europe's dominant low-cost carriers. Founded in 1995, easyJet built its business around short-haul routes across the UK and continental Europe, competing head-to-head with rivals such as Ryanair and Wizz Air for budget-conscious travellers.
Timeline and Rationale
Completion of the deal is expected in the first quarter of 2027, giving the two sides roughly six months to secure shareholder and regulatory sign-off. Private equity buyers have shown renewed appetite for aviation assets this year as travel demand has rebounded, and easyJet's mix of scheduled short-haul flights and its package-holiday arm have made it an attractive target for buyout firms hunting for steady cash-flow businesses, according to Yahoo Finance UK.
The size of the premium also underscores how far easyJet's share price had lagged its underlying value in the eyes of bidders. At 394 pence, the stock had traded well below levels seen in the years before the pandemic grounded fleets across the industry, even as the carrier's operations have since recovered and expanded.
For Apollo, the acquisition adds a major European airline to a private equity portfolio that already spans industries from chemicals to media. The firm has increasingly targeted large, publicly listed companies for take-private deals, using cash-rich funds to outbid rival buyout houses such as Castlelake for control of established, cash-generative businesses.
Assuming shareholders and regulators approve the transaction on schedule, easyJet would join a growing list of formerly public airlines and travel companies now controlled by private equity, a shift that has reshaped ownership across the travel sector in recent years. The deal is expected to rank among the largest private equity buyouts of a European airline to date, underlining how far institutional investors are now willing to reach for aviation assets with resilient, post-pandemic demand.
