EasyJet has agreed to a £5.7 billion takeover bid from Apollo, igniting a bidding war for the UK airline just days after it accepted a rival offer from US suitor Castlelake.
The Luton-based carrier confirmed it had reached an agreement in principle for Apollo's offer, which values EasyJet shares at £7.15 each. This significantly surpasses the £6.90-a-share proposal from rival US investment firm Castlelake, which had valued the airline's fully diluted share capital at £5.5 billion. Apollo's deal, to be paid with a combination of equity and debt, places EasyJet's value at approximately £5.7 billion.
