EASYJET: What the £5.7bn US takeover means if you fly from Bristol

EasyJet, the airline most south Wales travellers board at Bristol Airport, has agreed a £5.7bn takeover by US investment firm Apollo.

The deal was struck after rival US bidder Castlelake, which had chased the carrier for months, pulled out of the race. Shareholders will receive £7.15 per share.

The takeover matters this side of the Severn because of Bristol. EasyJet has 20 aircraft permanently based at the airport, flying to around 90 destinations including Spain, Portugal, Greece and France, along with domestic routes to Edinburgh, Glasgow, Newcastle, Belfast, the Isle of Man and Jersey.

EasyJet does not fly from Cardiff Airport, making Bristol the closest base for its orange-liveried fleet, an hour or so down the M4 for most of the region.

On jobs, Apollo says it does not intend to cut any staff for at least 12 months after the deal completes. If easyJet then leaves the stock exchange to become a private company, a “limited number of roles in specific areas” tied to running a listed business could go.

EasyJet is one of Europe’s largest airlines, employing more than 19,000 people across around 1,200 routes in 35 countries.

Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou founded the carrier in 1995 to sell cheap flights to Europe from the UK, with its first services taking off that November from Luton to Glasgow and Edinburgh.

Sir Stelios and his family still own around 15% of the business, and he is staying put. “My family and I intend to remain invested as long-term major shareholders of easyJet for the next chapter in the company’s journey,” he said, backing Apollo’s plans “to create more growth”.

From ‘on the cheap’ to £7.15 a share

The airline’s future has been up in the air since late May, when it emerged Castlelake was weighing a bid.

Castlelake’s early approaches were rebuffed, with easyJet accusing the US firm of trying to buy it “on the cheap”. By early July the two sides had agreed a deal in principle, only for Apollo, whose portfolio includes Wagamama parent The Restaurant Group, to swoop with a higher offer.

Apollo says it is “highly supportive” of the airline’s existing strategy. Alex van Hoek, the firm’s European private equity lead, called easyJet “a leader in European aviation” and said there was a significant opportunity to accelerate its ambitions.

EasyJet chief executive Kenton Jarvis said: “We welcome Apollo’s commitment to our business and our people, and believe that its experience in the aviation sector makes it a strong partner for easyJet.”

One wrinkle remains: EU rules require the airline’s owners to be majority EU-based. Apollo expects to satisfy that by making the Haji-Ioannou family and other EU-based shareholders owners of around half the business.

For passengers, nothing changes at the gate while the deal goes through. The new owner’s promise is continuity: the same strategy, and the same planes flying out of Bristol.