easyJet Agrees £5.7bn Takeover by US Firm
The budget airline easyJet has agreed to a takeover worth around £5.7bn by the American private-equity firm Apollo, which will take the carrier private. A rival bidder dropped out, leaving Apollo to seal one of the biggest British corporate deals of the year. It puts a household-name UK airline into American ownership.
easyJet, founded in the 1990s and a fixture of Britain’s holiday industry, has weathered the turbulence of the pandemic and volatile fuel costs to remain one of Europe’s largest low-cost carriers. Private-equity ownership often brings cost-cutting and restructuring, and unions and passengers will watch for the effect on fares, routes and jobs. The deal adds to a run of British companies bought by overseas buyers, reviving concerns about the hollowing-out of the London stock market. Shareholders and regulators must still approve it. Watch for the terms and any conditions attached.