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Friday, 7 August 2026

Compiled with AI from public news sources. Folio is editorial commentary for commercial-awareness practice, not legal advice. Verify any detail against the linked sources before relying on it professionally.

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Top Story/M&A

Apollo Global Management agrees to acquire UK carrier EasyJet in a deal valuing the airline at around £5.7 billion

Apollo Global Management has reached an agreement to acquire UK low-cost carrier EasyJet in a transaction that values the airline at approximately £5.7 billion, with shareholders set to receive £7.15 per share. That price represents an 81% premium to EasyJet's unaffected closing share price of £3.94 on 28 May. The deal comes after a rival approach from Castlelake was dropped, leaving Apollo as the agreed buyer. Completion is expected by the end of the first quarter of 2027. EasyJet shares rose on the London market following acceptance of the offer, with the airline now a FTSE 250 constituent after its relegation from the FTSE 100 in March 2026. The transaction marks one of the most significant private equity acquisitions of a listed UK airline in recent memory, bringing a major consumer-facing UK brand into private ownership. Clifford Chance is advising EasyJet, Paul Weiss is advising Apollo, and Macfarlanes is advising founder Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou and his easyGroup vehicle.

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Bigger Picture

Sector Watch

US PE Take-Privates of UK Listed Companies

Apollo's agreed £5.7 billion acquisition of EasyJet, following Castlelake's withdrawal, is the latest in a series of US private equity firms targeting undervalued UK listed companies at substantial premiums. The pattern reflects a structural opportunity created by sterling weakness and post-pandemic sector repricing, with aviation, consumer, and industrials sectors among those attracting the most attention. For City law firms, the pipeline of UK public take-privates generates sustained demand across public M&A, leveraged finance, Takeover Code advisory, and competition clearance practices simultaneously. The EasyJet deal adds aviation licensing complexity to the standard take-private playbook, raising novel questions about foreign ownership restrictions on UK air operator certificates that will require specialist regulatory advice alongside the core transaction work.

One to Follow

The Apollo-EasyJet take-private completion process, including satisfaction of aviation licensing conditions and any CMA merger control filing, as the deal moves toward its anticipated completion at the end of the first quarter of 2027.

The foreign ownership rules governing UK air operator certificates create a structurally novel condition to this take-private that does not arise in standard PE buyouts, making it a live test of how the Takeover Code timetable accommodates sector-specific regulatory clearance. Public M&A, aviation regulatory, leveraged finance, and competition practices will all be heavily engaged as the deal progresses.

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