Overview
- EasyJet said on Sunday that, after reviewing Castlelake's fifth offer, its board is minded to recommend the 690p per share proposal to shareholders as a conditional agreement in principle.
- The offer values EasyJet at about £5.2 billion on an equity basis and up to roughly £5.5 billion fully diluted, and London trading pushed the shares up roughly 10% after the announcement.
- Castlelake plans a bidding vehicle in which it would hold up to 49% while EU nationals including Peter Bellew and Mark Breen would hold 51% to meet post‑Brexit EU aviation ownership and control rules.
- Under UK takeover rules Castlelake has until 5:00pm BST on August 3 to either announce a firm intention to make a formal offer or withdraw, and any final deal still needs due diligence, shareholder approval and multi‑jurisdictional regulator clearances.
- EasyJet’s valuable airport slots, standardized Airbus fleet and growing package‑holidays arm explain buyer interest and mean a completed takeover could remove the carrier from public markets and trigger scrutiny over future strategy or asset use.