London (PA Media/dpa) - EasyJet suitor Castlelake has gone public with a takeover proposal for the budget airline worth £4.74 billion ($6.25 billion) after its advances have been rejected.
Castlelake said it put forward a third approach to acquire easyJet on Saturday worth 625p a share, but this was rejected on Sunday.
The US investment fund said it was now taking its third proposed offer to easyJet shareholders after claiming the carrier has refused to engage “meaningfully”.
The private credit company, which owns a stake of around 2.14% in easyJet through shares held on behalf of funds it manages, said it had tabled two previous proposals worth 560p a share and 600p a share.
Castlelake said: “As with the second proposal, Castlelake expected that the third proposal would elicit prompt engagement from the easyJet board.
“However, the easyJet board rejected the third proposal on June 21, 2026.
“Following the rejection of three proposals by the easyJet board, and given its unwillingness to engage meaningfully, Castlelake is announcing this third proposal to enable easyJet shareholders to consider its merits and provide their views on the third proposal to the easyJet board,” it added.
It comes ahead of the upcoming so-called Put-up or Shut-up deadline set by the Takeover Panel at 5 pm (1600 GMT) on June 26.
Castlelake insisted its latest possible bid offered “compelling value,” at a premium of around 59% on the 394.20p price of easyJet shares at market close on May 28, which was the day before its interest in the airline became public.
Luton-based EasyJet branded Castlelake’s initial interest as “highly opportunistic” in its first response on June 1.
EasyJet said the takeover interest came at a time when its share price has been pushed lower by worries over the impact of the Iran war on the airline sector.
The FTSE 250 firm’s shares were down around 30% in the past year, before news of the bid interest.
It also highlighted its strong financial position and said it remained focused on its medium-term target to deliver more than £1 billion in pre-tax profits.
EasyJet added at the time there was “considerable regulatory, financial and other execution challenges associated with a potential takeover of easyJet.”
Led by executive chairman and founder Rory O’Neill, Castlelake and has assets under management worth $36 billion US dollars.
It entered talks in January with bankrupt US carrier Spirit Airlines over a possible takeover.
Castlelake has also previously bailed out collapsed Scandinavian Airlines (SAS) and then sold on its shares to Air France-KLM.
