easyJet rejects third Castlelake bid

easyJet rejected (22-Jun-2026) a third bid by Castlelake to acquire its share capital at GBP6.25 on 20-Jun-2026, following bids of GBP5.60 and GBP6 per share. The LCC's board said that under the "unsolicited, indicative and conditional proposal", the bidding vehicle would be 49% owned by Castlelake and 51% owned by EU nationals - including former easyJet COO Peter Bellew and former Arajet and flyadeal CEO Mark Breen - as well as potentially other undisclosed investors. easyJet stated: "The board of easyJet carefully considered the third proposal with its advisers and concluded that it is highly opportunistic, delivered against the backdrop of easyJet's temporarily depressed share price and still fundamentally undervalues easyJet and its prospects". It added: "The premium, multiple and future share price analyses presented by Castlelake are based primarily on Middle East conflict-affected share prices, short-term earnings and analyst reports. They fail to reflect easyJet's medium-term prospects, its strong balance sheet and capital structure and still less provide an adequate control premium thereto". It concluded: "Accordingly, the board believes that the third proposal represents an opportunistic attempt to acquire easyJet 'on the cheap' and that it is therefore not in the best interests of easyJet shareholders". [more - Aviation Week]