Apollo Global Management won easyJet. Castlelake withdrew from the bidding on August 6, without giving a specific reason, clearing the way for Apollo’s £5.7 billion (£7.15-a-share) cash offer — unanimously recommended by easyJet’s board, an 81% premium to where the stock traded before takeover interest first emerged in late May. The deal is expected to close in 1Q27, pending shareholder approval.
We flagged this structure back in July, when Castlelake’s approach centered on a 49% Castlelake stake sitting alongside a majority EU-controlled vehicle — its answer to the EU rule requiring European airlines to stay majority-owned and effectively controlled by EU nationals. At the time, that structure hadn’t been tested at this scale, and the question we posed was whether it would clear regulators, and whether it would become a reusable template for other bidders chasing European carriers.
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