Apollo acquires EasyJet for £5.7bn after rival bidder withdraws

EasyJet, the budget airline that transformed European air travel three decades ago, is being taken private. Apollo, a US investment firm, has agreed to buy the carrier for £5.7 billion after a competing bidder stepped away from the fight. The deal values each share at £7.15—a price that reflects the airline's current standing but falls short of what investors saw before the pandemic.

The takeover ends months of uncertainty that began in late May when Castlelake, another American firm, first signaled interest in acquiring EasyJet. Castlelake made several offers, but EasyJet's board initially rejected them, arguing the bids undervalued the business. By early July, the two sides had agreed in principle on a deal. Then Apollo entered the picture with a higher offer, and Castlelake withdrew. The speed of that reversal—and the finality of it—cleared the path for Apollo to move forward.

EasyJet operates across 35 European countries, flying roughly 1,200 routes and employing more than 19,000 people. The airline was founded in 1995 by Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou, who saw an opportunity to bring low-cost flying to a continent where air travel had been expensive and exclusive. The first flights departed from Luton in November of that year, heading to Glasgow and Edinburgh. The model worked. EasyJet became one of Europe's largest carriers, and Haji-Ioannou's family still owns about 15 percent of the company. In a statement, he said he and his family would remain as long-term shareholders and supported Apollo's intention to grow the business.

Apollo owns The Restaurant Group, which operates Wagamama, and has experience in the aviation sector. The firm's European private equity lead, Alex van Hoek, described EasyJet as a leader in its market with a strong brand and a network that offers real competitive advantage. The airline's chief executive, Kenton Jarvis, welcomed Apollo's backing and cited the buyer's aviation expertise as a reason for confidence. Apollo has committed to avoiding job cuts for at least the first 12 months after the deal closes, a pledge that suggests the airline's day-to-day operations and customer service will remain largely unchanged.

But the path to completion is not straightforward. European Union regulations require that any owner of EasyJet hold a majority stake and be EU-based. Apollo plans to satisfy this requirement by ensuring that the Haji-Ioannou family and other EU shareholders together own roughly half the business. Regulators in the EU and elsewhere will need to approve the transaction before it can close.

There is also the question of what happens when EasyJet stops being a publicly traded company. Some roles tied to maintaining a public listing—regulatory filings, investor relations, compliance functions—may no longer be needed. Apollo described this as a "limited number of roles in specific areas," but the exact count remains unclear. For a company with nearly 20,000 employees, even a small percentage could mean hundreds of people.

Analysts noted that the £7.15 share price, while substantially higher than where EasyJet traded before recent geopolitical tensions, still falls well below the levels the stock reached before COVID-19 upended the airline industry. Danni Hewson, head of financial analysis at AJ Bell, observed that the loss of another recognizable name from London's stock exchange represents a broader shift in the market. "Air travel might not be as sexy as space travel," she said, "but retail investors understand it and names like EasyJet can't easily be replaced." The deal marks another chapter in the consolidation of European aviation, and a transition from public ownership to private control for one of the continent's most visible carriers.