Easyjet has asked investors to accept a rival takeover bid worth £5.7billion from another US investor, as it eyes an exit from the London market.
The budget airline, set up by Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou in 1995, said it had reached an agreement ‘in principle’ with US investment giant Apollo, trumping a bid from Castlelake earlier this week.
‘The proposed cash offer delivers a superior outcome for easyJet shareholders by providing a higher cash value than Castlelake's latest proposal of £6.90 per easyJet share,’ the London-listed airline said in a statement.
Shares rose 13.3 per cent to 666p in early trading, bringing its total gains this year to 29.7 per cent.
Easyjet on Sunday had agreed in principle to a £5.5billion takeover bid from US investor Castlelake before receiving an improved offer from Apollo on Wednesday.
