EasyJet (LSE:EZJ) extended the deadline for suitor Castlelake to table a firm takeover offer, aligning it with rival bidder Apollo and pushing the bidding war for the London-listed carrier toward a climax this week.
The UK Takeover Panel agreed to move Castlelake's "put up or shut up" deadline to August 7 from August 3, matching the date already facing Apollo. Both private equity suitors now have until Friday to submit a binding offer or walk away, with easyJet providing diligence access to each since their latest proposals.
Apollo's £5.7 billion, $7.68 billion bid, tabled in July, trumped an earlier £5.5 billion offer from Castlelake, an American private equity and aircraft-leasing group.
That marks the latest escalation in a contest running since Castlelake first emerged with interest in late May, when its non-binding bids climbed in stages from £5.60 to £6.50 a share before easyJet judged them too low.
Unresolved questions over ownership structures and investor exit options still cloud the path to a deal, according to commentary reported by Reuters.
The bidding war comes as easyJet's own numbers show volatility: third-quarter profit plummeted 70% as the Iran war drove fuel-price swings and dented traveller confidence, though the carrier pointed to clearer skies heading into peak summer.
Rival Air France-KLM has meanwhile signalled it sees an opportunity to poach easyJet passengers should the takeover turmoil unsettle the carrier's customer base.
Friday's deadline now stands as the next firm marker in a process that has already run for more than two months.
News Intelligence what this means for the company
EasyJet's board has aligned takeover deadlines for Apollo and Castlelake to Friday, August 7, forcing both private equity bidders to table binding offers or withdraw. Apollo's £5.7 billion bid currently leads Castlelake's £5.5 billion proposal, but unresolved questions over ownership structures and investor exits remain unresolved—meaning the deadline alignment clarifies timing but not deal certainty. The contest matters because easyJet's third-quarter profit plummeted 70% on fuel-price volatility and travel demand weakness, making the carrier's standalone trajectory uncertain and potentially raising the stakes for either bidder's final offer.
The aligned deadline compresses decision-making but does not resolve the structural obstacles. For easyJet shareholders, the outcome hinges on whether either bidder's final offer reflects the carrier's weakened near-term earnings (Q3 profit down 70%) or assumes operational recovery; for potential acquirers, the Friday deadline forces a choice between walking away or committing to a business facing fuel-cost headwinds and competitive pressure from larger peers.
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