With its garish bright orange livery and the ferocity with which its algorithm squeezes a few extra pounds out of you for every flight, easyJet is not a company for which anyone holds any huge affection. It doesn’t have the cachet of British Airways or one of the luxury Gulf carriers. Nor does it have quite the rough’n’ready, dirt-cheap vibes of Ryanair or one of the other ultra-budget airlines. And yet, with the American private equity giant Castlelake looking to take over the airline, one thing has become very obvious. Britain cannot afford to lose one of its most successful companies.
EasyJet may not operate as an independent company much longer. The board has already rejected four offers from Castlerock, including one from the private equity firm today that was valued at £4.93 billion. Still, it has at least agreed to open discussions about a deal. Its shares have already risen by 50 per cent since the takeover offers were first revealed, rising to 573p. If Castlelake offers £7 a share, the view in the City is that it will be a done deal. easyJet will be sold.
Of course, Britain remains an open market, and companies get taken over all the time. In the last few months, Tate & Lyle, one of the oldest companies on the stock market, has been sold off to its American rival Ingredion, and the bookmaker William Hill has been swallowed up by a Greek casino operator.
