EasyJet shareholders have overwhelmingly approved a £5.7 billion takeover by Apollo Global Management, clearing the biggest remaining hurdle in one of the largest private-equity buyouts of a European airline.
At a court meeting on Wednesday, 97.07 per cent of shares voted backed the scheme of arrangement, with 2.93 per cent against. A separate general meeting passed the resolution needed to implement the deal with 96.67 per cent of votes cast in favour.
Under the terms agreed in August, Apollo will acquire easyJet through Eagle Bidco, a company indirectly owned by funds managed by the investment firm, paying shareholders 715p per share in cash. The price values the airline at approximately £5.7 billion and is a level easyJet shares have not reached in five years.
The deal followed a bidding contest in the summer with rival US investor Castlelake, which withdrew after Apollo tabled its higher offer. Bankers, lawyers and public relations advisers stand to share a fee pool worth £334.5 million if the transaction completes.
The takeover will end easyJet’s 26 years as a publicly listed company, with its shares set to be removed from the London Stock Exchange once the deal becomes effective. EasyJet said it expected that to happen before the end of the first quarter of 2027, subject to sanction by the High Court and remaining regulatory approvals.
The vote was complicated by European ownership rules. Nearly a third of easyJet shares were barred from the poll because EU nationals held only 35.07 per cent of the stock at the time of the meeting, so voting rights attached to shares held by non-EU investors were suspended to ensure EU shareholders formed a majority. Apollo’s deal is structured so that it holds less than 50 per cent economic ownership of the airline.
Apollo has said it will support easyJet’s existing strategy, including fleet modernisation, improvements to ancillary and loyalty offerings and further growth of easyJet holidays. The investment firm has also indicated it intends to keep the easyJet brand and the airline’s headquarters and operating licences.
Founder Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou and his family, who speak for more than 15 per cent of the company, have backed the acquisition and plan to retain an interest in the business under the new ownership structure.
Chief executive Kenton Jarvis, speaking at the Airlines 2026 conference in London on Thursday, said Apollo backed the airline’s existing direction and that competition filings were progressing. “A lot of those are starting to come through now: approved, approved, approved,” he said.
Sources: Travel Weekly (https://travelweekly.co.uk/news/easyjet-shareholders-approve-57bn-apollo-takeover) and The Times (https://www.thetimes.com/business/companies-markets/article/easyjets-57bn-takeover-by-apollo-cleared-by-shareholders-hvv3b99vq).
