• EasyJet accepts a £5.7 billion takeover proposal from Apollo Management.
• Apollo's offer of £7.15 per share surpasses Castlelake's bid of £6.90 per share.
• The move suggests a potential bidding war between Apollo and Castlelake for EasyJet's ownership.

British budget airline EasyJet announced that it has reached an "agreement in principle" for a £5.7 billion ($7.7 billion) takeover by U.S. private equity firm Apollo Management, which outbid a prior offer from Castlelake. EasyJet stated that Apollo's proposal, which offers £7.15 per share, delivers a "superior outcome" for shareholders compared to Castlelake's £6.90 per share bid, and as a result, the board "is no longer minded to recommend the Castlelake proposal," according to BBC, CBS News, and Le Monde.

This takeover bid from Apollo suggests the onset of a bidding war for EasyJet, which had previously seemed set to be taken private by Castlelake after the airline accepted its fifth proposal earlier in the week. Apollo has until August 7 to formalize its offer, while Castlelake needs to finalize its bid by August 3, according to BBC, CBS News, and Le Monde.

EasyJet reported a deepening of losses—by 27 percent—to £377 million in the first half of the financial year, partly due to rising fuel costs influenced by geopolitical tensions. Nonetheless, CEO Kenton Jarvis expressed that the airline is "well placed" to navigate upcoming challenges, emphasizing the business's potential resilience and growth prospects during periods of turbulence, according to BBC, CBS News, and Le Monde.