- easyJet founder Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou has thrown his support behind Apollo Global Management’s £5.41 billion ($7.26 billion) takeover bid, hours after rival bidder Castlelake abandoned the race.
- How Apollo’s £7.15-per-share offer beat out Castlelake’s final £6.90 bid.
- Why Castlelake, which has never run an airline, walked away rather than counter-bid.
- Apollo’s track record in aviation, including its past ownership of Sun Country and financing deals with Virgin Atlantic and Air France-KLM.
- The full timeline of offers and rejections since Castlelake first signaled interest in May.
Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou, the founder of easyJet and the largest shareholder in the low-cost airline, along with other family members, has thrown his weight behind a takeover bid by the U.S. investment firm Apollo Global Management, which values EasyJet at £5.41 billion ($7.26 billion).
The news came on the same day that Apollo submitted a firm offer to buy easyJet, while rival bidder Castlelake, which was the first to make a move to acquire the airline, announced that it was pulling out of the race.
Apollo has submitted a firm offer to buy easyJet, paying £7.15 per share. In contrast, Castlelake had not improved upon its offer of £6.90 per easyJet share to take the airline private.
“Having carefully reviewed the proposal by Apollo, my family members and I have decided to support the recommended acquisition announced by the easyJet board,” commented Sir Stelios after the firm offer was submitted on Thursday.
“I am pleased with Apollo’s strategic intentions for the easyJet business, which aim to create more growth. The fact that Apollo, as one of the most well-resourced and experienced institutional investors in the world, has decided to back and grow easyJet, the leading member of the easy family of brands, is testament to the strength of the easy brand and the business model of easyGroup Ltd.”
Sir Stelios added that he and his family intend to remain major shareholders in EasyJet under the control of Apollo.
Apollo says it views easyJet as one of the “most attractive businesses in the global aviation sector and a highly differentiated franchise with significant long-term growth potential.”
“Apollo believes in easyJet’s existing strategy of evolving and strengthening the low-cost carrier model, most notably through upgauging the fleet, enhancing the ancillary and loyalty offering, and scaling Holidays into a structurally differentiated earnings stream,” the statement added.
New York-based Apollo has previous experience in the aviation industry. Founded in 1990, the company has bought and traded a broad portfolio of companies, including those in the hospitality and leisure industries, as well as media and telecoms.
Last November, Apollo completed a $745 million senior secured financing of Virgin Atlantic’s portfolio of take-off and landing slots at London Heathrow. The firm has also provided funding to the Air France-KLM Group, including its Flying Blue frequent flyer program.
Unlike Castlelake, which has been involved in aviation financing but has never run an airline, Apollo has previously run the U.S. ultra-low-cost airline Sun Country.
In recent years, easyJet’s financial performance has lagged that of its main rival, Ryanair. In effect, its assets, such as airplanes, airport gates, and takeoff and landing slots, are currently worth more than the value of the company’s shares.
Apollo has made it clear, however, that it doesn’t want to acquire easyJet just to get its hands on the airline’s assets. The firm believes that it can make improvements to easyJet’s operations so that it can fully realize its financial potential.
The race to acquire easyJet started in May when Castlelake announced it was considering making an offer for the airline. On June 12, Castlelake initially proposed an offer to buy EasyJet’s 758 million shares at a price of £5.60 per share. The proposal was rejected on June 16.
Castlelake returned just a day later to propose an offer price of £6.00 per share. EasyJet’s board rejected this proposal on June 20. Within hours, Castlelake said it would increase its offer price to £6.25 per share. The board rejected the deal but agreed to open up its books to Castlelake.
Finally, on July 5, EasyJet said it had agreed in principle to an offer price of £6.90 per share from Castlelake.
On July 10, Apollo then announced its intended offer for easyJet, which was worth around 5.2% than the Castlelake bid. It seemed like a bidding war was about to start, but Castlelake ultimately decided not to try to beat Apollo’s bid.
To get around European antitrust rules, the bid is being submitted by Eagle Bidco Ltd, a UK-registered business that is indirectly owned by Apollo. The acquisition is expected to complete by the end of the first quarter of 2027.
