The EasyJet Castlelake takeover moved a step closer on Monday after the budget carrier’s board said it would be minded to recommend a £6.90-per-share offer to shareholders, valuing the airline at roughly £5 billion. The bid is Castlelake’s fifth approach to EasyJet and carries a premium of nearly 24% to the closing share price on the Friday before the deal was made public, according to Reuters.
EasyJet shares hit four-year highs on 7 July 2026, trading at £6.14, up more than 9%, but remained well below the offer price, reflecting investor uncertainty over regulatory hurdles, Reuters reported.
EasyJet Castlelake Takeover: The Bid History
‘Having carefully reviewed it with its advisers, the board of easyJet concluded that the financial terms of the fifth proposal are at a value that the board would be minded to recommend to easyJet shareholders,’ the airline said in a statement.
Castlelake first approached EasyJet on 29 May, according to Yahoo Finance, citing Reuters. EasyJet’s own statement put the first formal bid on 12 June; the earlier date likely refers to initial informal contact before the first filed proposal.
The opening offer stood at £5.60 per share. EasyJet rejected three consecutive bids, calling them ‘opportunistic’ as its share price fell to multi-year lows against the backdrop of the Iran war. After Castlelake’s third rejection, the firm went public with its pitch, criticising the carrier for its ‘unwillingness to engage meaningfully’ with its interest, as reported by Reuters.
A fourth offer at £6.50 a share prompted EasyJet’s board to signal willingness to engage and to share commercial information to help Castlelake produce a ‘more attractive proposal.’ The fifth bid at £6.90 was the result.
Some shareholders had been holding out for £7 a share. One large investor told the Financial Times: ‘I think they’ll engage if the price is at seven plus.’ The board’s decision to back the lower figure suggests it judged further resistance unlikely to extract that premium.
Castlelake’s Aviation Track Record and the Ownership Structure
Castlelake manages about $38 billion in assets and has deployed more than $24 billion into aviation since 2005, according to Reuters. The firm already holds a stake of about 2.14% in EasyJet through the funds it manages, BBC News reported.
Under the proposed structure, the bidding vehicle would be 49% owned by Castlelake and 51% by EU nationals. That split is required by EU rules mandating significant European-citizen involvement in any takeover of a licensed European carrier.
The EU-national shareholders named in the bid are Peter Bellew, former chief executive of Malaysia Airlines, and Mark Breen, chief executive of Dublin-based Oneiros Aerospace.
Castlelake said it intends ‘to support its future growth and transformation to a stronger, more resilient European airline,’ according to BBC News.
Bernstein analysts warned the ownership profile points toward an eventual break-up. ‘We view the acquirer’s status as a major player in the aircraft leasing business, but not a traditional private equity firm, as likely indicating a future break-up of the company and separation of its valuable assets: fleet, orders, slots, and Holidays business,’ the bank said, as cited by Yahoo Finance.
Reuters noted that successive crises, including Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the Covid-19 pandemic, and the Iran war, have depressed airline valuations across Europe, making carriers including EasyJet targets for opportunistic capital.
The EasyJet Castlelake takeover remains subject to a formal offer being tabled. The two sides have extended the ‘put up or shut up’ deadline to 3 August 2026 at 5pm London time, per a joint statement cited by Yahoo Finance. EasyJet, listed on the London Stock Exchange under the ticker EZJ, would delist if the deal completes.
Whether Castlelake can satisfy regulators on the EU-ownership structure before that deadline expires is the key binary for shareholders still sitting below the offer price.
