On 5 July 2026, EasyJet's board agreed to be bought by Castlelake, an investment company based in Minneapolis, for £6.90 per share. That values the airline at approximately £5.2 billion, according to The Guardian and Bloomberg. Once the deal closes, EasyJet will stop being a publicly traded company—that is, you won't be able to buy its stock on the London stock exchange anymore. Castlelake has until 5 August 2026 to formally commit to the purchase, or it can back out.

How We Got Here: A Seven-Week Negotiation

Castlelake didn't win the deal on its first try. The company started with a much lower offer in June at 560 pence per share. Over the next seven weeks, it kept raising its bid. Each time, EasyJet's board said no. By the time both sides reached agreement, Castlelake had increased its offer by 23%.

Castlelake even tried going around EasyJet's board at first, appealing directly to people who owned EasyJet shares. That didn't work. Eventually, both sides came back to the negotiating table. Even an offer of £6.50 per share—made just ten days before the final agreement—was rejected as not enough.

When the board finally said yes to £6.90, it meant the two sides had hammered out a price they could both live with.

Who Is Buying EasyJet and Why

Castlelake is being joined in this deal by Peter Bellew, an experienced airline executive, and Mark Breen. Bellew's involvement suggests this isn't just about making a quick profit; it's about running the airline better.

Castlelake said it wants to help EasyJet grow and change for the future. Specifically, it said it supports the airline buying new aircraft—planes that use less fuel. For an airline like EasyJet, which competes on price, burning less fuel per passenger matters enormously. It cuts costs, which means bigger profits.

Castlelake already owned about 2% of EasyJet before making its first formal offer in June 2026. The takeover had been rumored since late May, so the market had been expecting something like this for weeks.

What Happens Next: The Regulatory Question

Before the deal can close, regulators in Britain and the European Union need to approve it. There's a specific rule in Europe: airlines flying across the EU must be mostly owned and controlled by European citizens. EasyJet flies in Switzerland, Austria, and many other European countries, which complicates things.

After Britain left the EU in 2020, EasyJet set up a separate company called EasyJet Europe to follow the rules. But if someone new is taking control of the airline, regulators will want to check all this again across different countries.

Why Going Private Matters for EasyJet

Right now, EasyJet is a public company. That means it has to report its profits and losses every three months, and investors and analysts are always scrutinizing its performance. When you take a company private, that pressure goes away.

For an airline dealing with delays in getting new planes from manufacturers, unpredictable fuel prices, and staff shortages that have been a problem since 2022, that freedom to focus on long-term plans without constant criticism could make a real difference.

Castlelake says it will support EasyJet's plan to buy new planes. Whether it actually follows through, and how quickly, will tell us what Castlelake's real plan is. But for now, the deal is done in principle. Castlelake must make it official by 3 August, or walk away.