Vera Stone EasyJet's board has backed Apollo Global Management's takeover after rival bidder Castlelake withdrew, saying it did "not intend to make an offer", per BBC and City AM.
Castlelake exited after the UK Takeover Panel's deadline for firm offers was extended to Friday. The board cited "value, strategic alignment" and long-term stewardship, according to City AM.
Any airline flying under an EU operating licence must be majority owned and effectively controlled by EU nationals to keep it, per Disruption Banking. Apollo has committed only to taking "all necessary steps," including compliance with the EU's Foreign Subsidies Regulation, without saying how a US buyout vehicle clears that bar. Castlelake, before dropping out, had at least sketched a fix — parking 51% of the airline in an EU vehicle fronted by Irish aviation executives — a structure the board preferred less than Apollo's price.
Founder Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou's family holds roughly 15% of easyJet and collects a 0.25% royalty on revenue for use of the "easy" brand. Apollo has pledged to leave that easyGroup licence untouched, a move aimed at neutralising the one shareholder who has blocked deals before, according to Euronews.
Markets remain skeptical: easyJet shares still trade below both offer prices, which Disruption Banking called the market "pricing in meaningful completion risk." Shares fell 6% on news of Castlelake's exit before recovering to close 2.8% higher.
Analysts cited by Aviation Business News warn that a debt-loaded, privately owned easyJet less committed to growth than the public company could cede intra-European capacity to Ryanair, Wizz Air and Jet2 — and would remove a carrier long used as a barometer of European travel demand from public markets.
