Bidding war breaks out for easyJet as Apollo tops rival private-equity group's bid

A bidding war has erupted for easyJet after Apollo submitted a counter proposal above an earlier bid from Castlelake. easyJet said Apollo Management has made a proposal for a possible cash offer at £7.15 per share, valuing the company at approximately £5.7 billion (about $7.7 billion). That price is higher than Castlelake’s previous offer of £6.90 per easyJet share, which easyJet had said it was prepared to accept. Apollo also indicated it plans to keep the brand licence agreement between easyJet and easyGroup, owned by easyJet founder Stelios Haji-Ioannou, who still holds a 15% stake in the airline. The sequence of offers signals escalating competition among private-equity bidders for control of the UK low-cost carrier.