Apollo Funds to Acquire easyJet in £5.7 Billion Recommended Offer

Paul, Weiss is lead legal adviser to Apollo-managed funds on their recommended cash acquisition of easyJet plc, a leading pan-European low-cost airline, valuing the business at approximately £5.7 billion ($7.7 billion).

Under the terms of the acquisition, easyJet shareholders are entitled to receive £7.15 per easyJet share or roll their existing shares into an Apollo entity that would hold their investment in easyJet. The cash offer represents an 81% premium to the undisturbed price of easyJet shares in May 2026 and the easyJet directors have unanimously recommended that easyJet’s shareholders approve Apollo’s offer. Apollo has also secured a commitment from easyJet’s major shareholders, Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou, the founder of easyJet, and his siblings, to vote in favor of the acquisition and to elect to roll their existing shares in order to retain their investment in easyJet.

The acquisition is expected to close by the end of the first quarter of 2027, subject to customary closing conditions and regulatory approvals, including UK and European aviation-related regulatory approvals.

The Paul, Weiss team is led by corporate partners Dan Schuster-Woldan and Matthew Hearn, and includes partners Francesca Storey-Harris, Matthew Friedman, David Carmona, Oliver Marcuse, Gregory Ezring, Christopher Sullivan and Matthew Goldstein, and counsel Lucy Jenkins, Ashley Hearn, Lisa Koff, Sophia Gui and Caitlin Ludwigsen; antitrust partners Henrik Morch, Annie Herdman, Nicole Kar and James Parkinson; tax partners Cian O’Connor, Timothy Lowe and Brad Okun; and intellectual property partner John Patten and counsel Alex Zapalowski.