easyJet's board on 6 August recommended a £7.15-a-share cash offer from Apollo-managed funds that values the UK low-cost airline at about £5.7bn.
Why Apollo Global Management (Eagle Bidco) is buying easyJet plc
Apollo said it sees easyJet as an attractive franchise and that private ownership would allow longer-term planning and more capital, pointing to its earlier airline investments including Sun Country, Aeromexico and Atlas Air. The easyJet board said the cash offer delivers immediate, certain value when set against geopolitical, fuel-price and macroeconomic risks to its standalone plan.
“We believe this offer appropriately recognises the quality of the business we have built and delivers immediate, certain and attractive value for shareholders.”
Deal terms and financing
The offer is an 81% premium to the £3.94 close on 28 May, the last trading day before the offer period began. Shareholders can elect for unlisted rollover shares in the new holding company instead of cash; rollover holders may own 45.1% to 49.9% of it, with Apollo funds holding up to 49.9%. The Haji-Ioannou family concert party, with about 15.31% of the shares, has irrevocably undertaken to vote for the scheme and elect the rollover.
Regulatory approvals and timing
The scheme needs 75% shareholder approval, aviation licence clearances, merger control approvals in Austria, Egypt, Germany and the UK, and foreign investment approvals in Austria, France, Italy, Malta, Spain and the UK. Completion is expected by the end of the first quarter of 2027.
Market context
The deal followed a contest for the airline in which Castlelake's last proposal was £6.90 a share; easyJet's board said it was no longer minded to recommend that approach once Apollo offered £7.15.
