Castlelake out of the running as easyJet agrees £5.7bn takeover by Apollo

(Sharecast News) - EasyJet said on Friday that it has agreed to be taken over by private equity firm Apollo in a £5.7bn deal, taking Castlelake out of the running. The budget airline announced on Monday that it was ready to accept a sweetened £5.5bn takeover offer from Castlelake after the private equity group tabled a fifth proposal at 690p a share.

However, it has now agreed in principle on the terms of a possible cash offer by Apollo at 715p per share. EasyJet said the offer from Apollo "delivers a superior outcome" for its shareholders.

The price offered by Apollo represents a premium of around 81% to the closing easyJet share price on 28 May - the last business day before the start of the offer period relating to Castlelake.

EasyJet said the offer from Apollo offers "an attractive combination of value, strategic alignment and long-term stewardship of the business".

"Accordingly, the easyJet board is no longer minded to recommend the Castlelake proposal," it said.

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