Apollo hijacks easyJet takeover with £5.7bn bid, trumping Castlelake

EasyJet said on Friday it had agreed in principle to Apollo Global Management's cash offer of £7.15 a share, worth about £5.7 billion (€6.6bn), which the board judged a "superior outcome" for shareholders than the £6.90 a share tabled by US private equity firm Castlelake. Having accepted Castlelake's proposal only last Sunday, the Luton-based airline said it was "no longer minded to recommend" it. Investors welcomed the auction as easyJet shares climbed around 15% to roughly £6.75 on Friday morning, their highest level since early 2022, though they remain below Apollo's offer price. The bid represents an 81% premium to the £3.94 at which easyJet closed on 28 May, the last trading day before Castlelake's interest became public, a valuation that reflects how badly the airline had been beaten down. The conflict between the US and Iran sent jet fuel prices soaring and disrupted travel plans, with easyJet's shares losing more than a third of their value before the takeover interest emerged. The damage showed in the accounts. In May the airline reported a headline loss after tax of £377 million (€442mn) for the six months to the end of March, 27% deeper than a year earlier, even as revenue grew 12% to £3.95 billion (€4.6bn). It warned that the second half of the financial year would also be hit by higher fuel costs and reduced visibility over bookings, though CEO Kenton Jarvis said easyJet was "well placed" to weather the turbulence. Industry-wide, the International Air Transport Association warned last month that global airline profits are on course to halve this year.

The Brussels problem

The obstacle now facing both bidders sits in EU law, which requires airlines flying within the bloc to be majority-owned and effectively controlled by EU member states or qualifying European nationals. Castlelake had proposed to satisfy the rule by partnering with two Irish aviation executives, Peter Bellew and Mark Breen, who would have held a controlling stake through an EU-based company. Concern over such regulatory hurdles helps explain why easyJet's shares have lagged the bid prices on offer. Apollo, for its part, says it will take "all necessary steps" to win merger clearance and any approvals relating to the EU's Foreign Subsidies Regulation. Apollo has also promised to retain the easyJet name by extending the existing licence with easyGroup, the vehicle of founder Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou, who with his family owns roughly 15% of the airline and collects a royalty on its revenue. That pledge may prove decisive in winning over the carrier's most influential shareholder as neither offer is yet firm. Under British takeover rules, Castlelake must decide by 3 August whether to bid or withdraw, with Apollo facing a deadline of 7 August. Should a deal succeed, easyJet would leave the London Stock Exchange, joining the latest wave of British companies bought by foreign capital this year.