A bidding war has erupted for budget carrier easyJet between US private equity firms Apollo Global Management and Castlelake LP. The airline's board has shifted its support to a takeover proposal from Apollo, withdrawing its previous recommendation for a deal with Castlelake.
Apollo has submitted an all-cash offer valued at £5.7 billion (€6.6bn), which values the business at 715 pence per share. The board is minded to recommend this potential deal to shareholders, noting that it delivers a superior outcome by providing a higher cash value than the competing proposal.
This shift comes after multiple rounds of talks with Castlelake, with whom easyJet had previously reached an agreement in principle at £6.90 per share. The Castlelake proposal, submitted on 4 July 2026, has been trumped by the more substantial offer from Apollo.
Apollo stated that easyJet's operational and commercial ambitions could be substantially accelerated via the access to incremental capital and longer-term business and strategic planning that a private company setting affords.