Castlelake goes public with £4.74bn easyJet bid
Castlelake has gone public with a £4.74bn ($6.21bn) all-cash proposal for easyJet after the board rejected three offers. A Takeover Panel deadline of 5pm Friday 26 June forces a decision within days.
US investment firm Castlelake has gone public with its £4.74bn ($6.21bn) takeover proposal for easyJet after the airline's board rejected a third offer on Sunday 21 June, with a Takeover Panel deadline of 5pm on Friday 26 June forcing the firm's hand.
Castlelake submitted three successive all-cash proposals to easyJet's board: 560p per share, then 600p per share, and finally 625p per share, each rejected without meaningful engagement according to Castlelake's statement. The 625p offer represents a premium of approximately 59 per cent on easyJet's closing price of 394.20p on 28 May, the day before Castlelake's interest became public.
EasyJet's board described the third proposal as "highly opportunistic, delivered against the backdrop of easyJet's temporarily depressed share price, while still fundamentally undervaluing easyJet and its prospects." The board added that Castlelake's proposed ownership structure, under which the firm would hold 49 per cent with 51 per cent held by undisclosed European investors, was "opaque and does not present any basis for assessing the deliverability of the Third Proposal."
Castlelake, a Minneapolis-based private credit firm with approximately $36bn in assets under management led by founder Rory O'Neill, went public with the proposal on Monday to allow easyJet shareholders to assess the offer ahead of the Friday deadline; the firm already holds a 2.14 per cent stake in easyJet, making it one of the carrier's top ten shareholders. Castlelake previously held a position in Scandinavian Airlines and has entered talks with Spirit Airlines over a possible acquisition.
EasyJet's share price has lost approximately 30 per cent of its value over the past year, depressed by the impact of the Iran conflict on jet fuel prices, weaker forward bookings and the H1 2026 pre-tax loss of $740mn (552mn pounds). Since news of Castlelake's interest emerged on 29 May, the shares have recovered approximately 36 per cent; as of 10:00am on Monday 22 June they stood at 515p, up 2 per cent on the prior close.
EasyJet's board said it remains "highly confident in easyJet's strategy and its ability to deliver attractive long-term value for shareholders," pointing to the airline's $6.3bn (4.7bn pounds) liquidity position and its medium-term target of more than $1.3bn (1bn pounds) in annual profit before tax. The board's rejection frames Castlelake's approach as exploiting temporary share price weakness rather than reflecting the airline's intrinsic value.
What to watch: whether Castlelake raises its offer above 625p before the 5pm Friday deadline, or withdraws under the Put-up or Shut-up obligation imposed by the Takeover Panel. Any offer above 700p would begin to test easyJet's board resistance; a withdrawal would return the share price toward pre-bid levels near 394p.
