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EasyJet shares jump almost 10% after it agrees £5.5bn takeover bid

EasyJet's board has switched its recommendation from Castlelake to a £5.7bn all-cash offer from Apollo, valuing the airline at £7.15 per share. The move follows a week of intense bidding and comes as analysts warn that UK firms are being bought at bargain prices.

By Tertius News AI Desk 1 outlet · 3 articles Version 1 Coverage Jul 5–10, 2026 Published Aug 15

Lead

EasyJet's board has given the green light to a possible £5.7bn takeover by US private equity firm Apollo, just days after agreeing to a lower offer from rival bidder Castlelake. The shift marks the latest twist in a bidding war for Britain's biggest low-cost airline, which saw shares jump nearly 10% in early trading.

Coverage comparison

Reports describe a rapid escalation in takeover interest. One account details how EasyJet's board had initially agreed to a £5bn takeover by Castlelake, announced in a statement to the stock market on Sunday evening. That deal, at £6.90 per share, was the fifth offer from Castlelake after four earlier bids were rejected, with analysts suggesting the airline was undervalued.

However, a subsequent report reveals that the board has now changed direction, saying it was "minded to recommend" Apollo's offer of £7.15 per share. The company stated that it had "carefully considered" the proposal and concluded unanimously that the financial terms were at a level it would recommend to shareholders. As a result, the board "is no longer minded to recommend the Castlelake proposal."

The bidding war appears far from over. Castlelake has until 5pm on 3 August to make a firm offer, while Apollo's deadline is reportedly 7 August. The latest offer from Apollo allows current shareholders to remain invested under its ownership, rather than being forced to sell when the company delists.

Key claims

EasyJet's board agreed in principle to a £5bn takeover by Castlelake, accepting an offer of £6.90 per share, before switching to prefer Apollo's £5.7bn offer at £7.15 per share.
Apollo's offer is all-cash and permits shareholders to retain their stakes, with Apollo signalling support for EasyJet's existing strategy and management, and no intention to break up the company.
EasyJet's founder Stelios Haji-Ioannou, who with his family owns about 15% of the company, has not yet commented publicly on the bids.
Analysts noted that the deal underscores concerns that UK-listed firms are being acquired at low valuations, with one analyst describing the acquisition as symbolic of the persistent underperformance of UK equities.

Perspectives

EasyJet's board

The board has twice shifted its stance, first agreeing "in principle" to Castlelake's £6.90 per share offer, then later saying it was "minded to recommend" Apollo's higher bid. In its statement, the board said it had made its decision unanimously after consulting financial advisers.

Castlelake

In a joint statement with EasyJet, Castlelake said it had "tremendous respect for easyJet and its people" and intended to support the airline's growth and transformation into a "stronger, more resilient European airline." It also voiced support for EasyJet's fleet modernisation plans.

Apollo

Apollo said it believes in EasyJet's existing strategy of evolving the low-cost carrier model, including fleet upgrades and scaling its holidays business. It emphasised the importance of retaining key staff and supporting the management team's contributions.

Analysts

City analysts said the deal raised concerns about London-listed UK firms being acquired by foreign buyers at cheap prices. Kathleen Brooks, research director at the brokerage XTB, said the acquisition of "an iconic British aviation name" was symbolic, suggesting "a lack of stock market growth and persistent underperformance of UK equities means that there is a massive for sale sign above UK corporates."

How this outlet told it

The Guardian — World as of Jul 5, 2026, 5:30 PM UTC

Framing: Neutral — Informative

Facts Included:

EasyJet agreed to a £5bn takeover by Castlelake
The agreement was announced in a statement to the stock market
EasyJet accepted an offer of £6.90 a share
Castlelake has until 5pm on 3 August to make a firm offer

Read the source article →

The Guardian — World as of Jul 10, 2026, 7:01 AM UTC

Framing: Surprise bidding war — Informative

Facts Included:

EasyJet's board gave the green light to a possible £5.7bn offer from Apollo
Apollo's offer values the business at £7.15p a share
EasyJet's board had previously agreed to accept a £6.90 deal from Castlelake
Apollo's offer allows current shareholders to remain invested

Read the source article →

The Guardian — World as of Jul 6, 2026, 5:01 PM UTC

Framing: UK firms being bought on the cheap — Critical

Facts Included:

EasyJet's shares surged nearly 10% after the airline agreed to a £5.5bn takeover
Analysts said the deal showed UK firms were being bought on the cheap
EasyJet's founder Stelios Haji-Ioannou owns about 15% of the company
City analysts commented on the deal

Read the source article →

What was claimed, and who backed it

Each row is one claim, attributed to the outlet whose wording states it most clearly. Confidence rates how directly the source text states the claim — explicit and unhedged rates high; hedged, pieced-together, or internally inconsistent statements rate lower. It does not measure whether the claim is true. Status counts the distinct outlets we found asserting it — so a single-source claim can still show high confidence, and a multi-source claim can show medium. Every one of those outlets is named beside the status, so you can check the count against the list. For claims extracted before we began storing that list, the row says so: it names the outlet the claim is quoted from and states that we have not recorded which outlets backed it. Outlets wrote at different times, so a figure that evolves — a casualty count, for example — can legitimately differ between rows; check the "as of" time next to each claim's source.

Claim	Confidence	Status
ClaimEasyJet agreed to a £5bn takeover by Castlelake. The agreement was announced in a statement to the stock market.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via The Guardian — World as of Jul 5, 2026, 5:30 PM UTC
ClaimEasyJet accepted an offer of £6.90 a share from Castlelake.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via The Guardian — World as of Jul 5, 2026, 5:30 PM UTC
ClaimCastlelake has until 5pm on 3 August to make a firm offer.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via The Guardian — World as of Jul 5, 2026, 5:30 PM UTC
ClaimEasyJet's board gave the green light to a possible £5.7bn offer from Apollo.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via The Guardian — World as of Jul 10, 2026, 7:01 AM UTC
ClaimApollo's offer values the business at £7.15p a share.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via The Guardian — World as of Jul 10, 2026, 7:01 AM UTC
ClaimApollo's offer allows current shareholders to remain invested under Apollo's ownership.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via The Guardian — World as of Jul 10, 2026, 7:01 AM UTC
ClaimEasyJet's founder Stelios Haji-Ioannou owns about 15% of the company.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via The Guardian — World as of Jul 6, 2026, 5:01 PM UTC
ClaimEasyJet's shares surged nearly 10% after the airline agreed to a £5.5bn takeover.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via The Guardian — World as of Jul 6, 2026, 5:01 PM UTC
ClaimAnalysts said the deal showed UK firms were being bought on the cheap.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via The Guardian — World as of Jul 6, 2026, 5:01 PM UTC

Transparency & Audit Trail

1 outlet · 3 articles consulted: The Guardian — World 9 claims extracted Version 1 Written 2026-08-15