en.Wedoany.com Reported - On August 6, Eagle Bidco, an affiliate of U.S. asset manager Apollo Global Management, reached an agreement with British low-cost carrier easyJet on a recommended cash acquisition. Apollo proposes to acquire all issued and to-be-issued ordinary shares of easyJet at £7.15 per share, corresponding to an equity valuation of approximately £5.7 billion. Upon completion of the transaction, easyJet will delist from the London Stock Exchange and become a private limited company.
The cash offer of £7.15 per share represents a premium of approximately 81% over easyJet's closing price of £3.94 per share on May 28. In addition to the cash consideration, eligible shareholders may also elect to exchange each easyJet share for one unlisted continuation share, thereby retaining an indirect interest in the company. This portion of shares is subject to a cap, with any consideration exceeding the cap to be paid in cash.
easyJet founder Stelios Haji-Ioannou and his family have committed to supporting the transaction and will convert their approximately 116 million easyJet shares into continuation shares, representing about 15.31% of the company's existing share capital. Under the proposed structure, upon completion of the transaction, continuation shareholders will hold between 45.1% and 49.9% of the new holding company, an EU trust will hold up to 5%, and Apollo funds will hold the remaining shares at no more than 49.9%, in order to satisfy airline ownership and control requirements.
Another U.S. investment firm, Castlelake, had previously proposed a possible offer of £6.90 per share for easyJet and reached an agreement in principle with easyJet in July. On August 6, Castlelake announced it would not proceed with a formal offer, and the easyJet board subsequently unanimously recommended that shareholders support Apollo's cash acquisition proposal.
Apollo plans to review the existing strategy with easyJet management within 12 months of the transaction becoming effective and to develop a subsequent operating plan. It stated that it does not intend to make material workforce reductions to the easyJet group during this period, but following delisting, certain head office functions associated with listed company status may be scaled back, potentially affecting a small number of roles. easyJet's UK head office and the locations of its air operator certificate holders in the UK, Austria, and Switzerland will remain unchanged.
The transaction is proposed to be implemented by way of a scheme of arrangement under the UK Companies Act 2006 and remains subject to approval by easyJet shareholders, the UK courts, and aviation and investment regulators. Under the current timetable, the transaction is expected to complete by the end of the first quarter of 2027.
