Apollo Global Seals the Deal on $7.7B easyJet Acquisition, Outbidding Castlelake

U.S. private equity behemoth, Apollo Global Management, has successfully negotiated the purchase of British budget airline, easyJet. This monumental all-cash transaction, valued at a staggering £5.7 billion ($7.7 billion), is one of the most significant private equity investments in European aviation in recent history. Apollo has committed to a payment of 715 pence per share — a significant 54% premium over easyJet’s closing price prior to the impact of Middle East tensions on airline stocks earlier this year.

With this deal, a protracted bidding war comes to a close. Competing firm, Castlelake LP, after having put forth five separate offers, has confirmed it will not surpass its latest £5.5 billion proposal, thus paving the way for Apollo. The acquisition has garnered the endorsement of easyJet’s board — which unanimously recommended the offer — as well as the airline’s founder, Greek-Cypriot entrepreneur Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou, who affirmed his family’s support for the transaction.

Assuming shareholders, competition authorities, and aviation regulators give their approval, easyJet, one of Europe’s leading budget carriers with prime airport slots at London Gatwick, Paris, Geneva, and Milan, will be taken private by Apollo. In order to adhere to EU airline ownership regulations, the Haji-Ioannou family and other major shareholders will maintain between 45% and 49% of the carrier. Apollo, a stakeholder in Sun Country, Aeroméxico, and Atlas Air, has expressed its intention to bolster easyJet’s long-term growth strategy. The transaction is projected to close by the first quarter of 2027.

Source: Axios – Apollo agrees to buy EasyJet for $7.7 billion