Easyjet suitors Apollo and Castlelake have until Friday to decide on making a firm offer for the budget airline, setting up a decisive week in the bidding war for the British carrier.
The airline’s board has backed a possible £5.7 billion (€6.7 billion) takeover offer tabled by investment fund Apollo Global Management in July, which trumped an earlier proposed £5.5 billion bid from US private credit group Castlelake.
Easyjet, which has operations in Belfast and Derry, confirmed that it had extended the deadline for Castlelake to decide whether to make a firm takeover offer for the airline to Friday August 7th from an earlier deadline on Monday.
The board said both bidders must “announce a firm intention” to make an offer for the airline by 5pm this Friday, August 7th, ending weeks of speculation over the carrier’s future.
RM Block
A deal could trigger further moves on airlines in Europe, whose fragmented air travel market is widely seen as ripe for consolidation. Airlines in the region face rising costs, including fuel, whose price has surged since the US-Israeli attacks on Iran in February.
Easyjet recently reported that profits for the three months to June 30th had tumbled 70 per cent to £85 million from £285 million during the same period in 2025.
The airline’s figures showed a sharp rise in fuel costs and flat passenger demand during the quarter. However, the company said it was seeing strong late bookings from passengers.
News of Castlelake’s bid first emerged in June, Apollo moved shortly afterwards.
Easyjet is viewed as Irish giant, Ryanair’s closest competitor in the European low-cost market. Other airlines tipped as likely takeover targets, include another low-cost carrier Wizz Air.
Volatility sparked by the US-Iran war could leave some of the region’s carriers vulnerable.
Ryanair chief executive, Michael O’Leary has consistently predicted that European air travel will consolidate around four groups, namely his company, Aer Lingus owner International Airlines’ Group, Air France-KLM and Lufthansa.
EasyJet flies from both Belfast airports and Derry, mostly to British airport, but with some services to Europe.
Founder Stelios Haji-Ioannou remains a shareholder in the airline, whose chief executive is Kenton Jarvis.
