EasyJet agrees 'in principle' to £5.2bn takeover deal

EasyJet has reached an agreement in principle with a US investment firm over a potential takeover offer worth around £5.2bn. The no-frills Luton-based airline had previously rejected four takeover offers from Castlelake, which owns a stake of about 2.14% in the carrier through the funds it manages. EasyJet is one of Europe's largest airlines. It employs more than 19,000 people, and flies around 1,200 routes across 35 European countries. When rejecting the previous offers, EasyJet had accused Castlelake of trying to buy it "on the cheap". However, on Sunday, the two sides said they had reached an agreement in principle on a proposal put forward on 4 July, worth £6.90 per share. This does not mean a deal has been confirmed. Castlelake now needs to get regulatory clearances and the approvals required for the transaction to go ahead. One significant regulatory hurdle is that European Union regulations stipulate that EasyJet must be majority-owned by EU citizens. While Castlelake is a US firm, with its earlier bids it had proposed going into partnership with two EU nationals, businessmen Peter Bellew and Mark Breen. They would own an EU-based company that would have majority control of