Europe's most recognisable low-cost airline has become the object of a transatlantic tug-of-war. On 10 July 2026, the board of easyJet told the market it was no longer minded to recommend a takeover proposal from the American investment firm Castlelake — because a second US suitor, Apollo Global Management, had just put a richer offer on the table.

Apollo's proposal values the orange-liveried carrier at roughly £5.7 billion (around $7.6 billion), pitched at £7.15 in cash for every easyJet share. That tops the £6.90 a share that Castlelake had offered only days earlier, on 5 July. In the space of a working week, one of the great survivors of European aviation has turned into a prize worth fighting over.

Nothing is signed. Both approaches remain, in the careful language of the London market, an agreement in principle — there is no certainty that a firm, binding offer will follow from either side. But the direction of travel is unmistakable, and easyJet's board has now swung behind the higher bidder.

The bid that flipped the board

For most of the past week the running had been made by Castlelake, whose £6.90-a-share proposal easyJet's directors had signalled, on 5 July, they were minded to support. Apollo's intervention changed the arithmetic overnight. At £7.15 a share, its cash offer is comfortably higher, and easyJet's board responded by withdrawing its backing for the Castlelake terms and lining up behind Apollo instead.

Two American suitors, one European icon

Both bidders are US-based alternative-investment houses: Apollo Global Management, one of the world's largest private-capital firms, and Castlelake, a specialist with deep roots in aviation finance. That two American investors are duelling over a British-listed, pan-European airline says a good deal about where easyJet now sits — a cash-generative, slot-rich business trading at a price that private capital finds hard to resist.

Why easyJet is worth a fight

Founded in 1995 with a pair of leased Boeing 737s and a phone number painted down the fuselage, easyJet grew into one of Europe's largest low-cost carriers, built around prized slots at London Gatwick and Luton and a network fanning out across the continent from Geneva to Milan. After the pandemic gutted short-haul demand, the airline clawed its way back to profitability — and a recovered, disciplined easyJet is exactly the kind of asset a buyer wants to catch on the way up.

What happens next

The contest now runs on a regulatory clock. Under UK takeover rules, Apollo has until 7 August to convert its approach into a firm offer, while Castlelake has until 3 August — a classic “put up or shut up” deadline that forces a bidder either to commit or walk away. Castlelake could yet return with a higher number, and easyJet has been careful to stress that, as things stand, there is no certainty any firm offer will be made at all. For now, Europe's orange airline is up for auction, and the bidding is still climbing.

Sources: easyJet Group regulatory statement (10 July 2026); RTÉ Business; Aviation Week; ch-aviation; UPI. Figures reflect a possible offer, not a completed transaction.