easyJet (LON: EZJ), the London-listed budget airline and holidays group, and its takeover suitor Apollo have agreed to push back the deadline for publishing the formal scheme document underpinning their 715p-a-share deal, from the original 28-day timetable to 15 October. The extension, confirmed with the UK Takeover Panel’s consent, buys more time to satisfy aviation regulators before the paperwork is filed.
easyJet shares stood at 673.4p in trading today, barely changed from the previous close of 673.8p and just below Apollo’s 715p offer.
easyJet and Apollo’s acquisition vehicle, Eagle Bidco, said in a joint statement that the extra six weeks were needed “in order to facilitate continuing constructive engagement with the relevant aviation regulators following the summer period and prior to publishing the scheme document.” A scheme of arrangement is the court-approved process used to take a UK public company private, and European rules restrict ownership of airlines by non-European controllers, which is why the sign-off is taking longer than first planned. The shareholder and court meetings are still expected in the second week of November, with completion still targeted for the end of the first quarter of 2027.
Apollo’s 715p offer, agreed on 6 August, beat a rival 690p bid from US private credit firm Castlelake, which withdrew from the process that day and is now barred under Takeover Code Rule 2.8 from making a fresh approach unless Apollo’s offer collapses. Shares are trading roughly 6% below the 715p offer price, a gap that reflects the deal’s remaining conditions rather than any change in terms.
The contest began in May when Castlelake first approached easyJet, before Apollo entered in July with its higher, board-recommended bid. The deadline slip changes the timetable, not the substance of the deal: both sides say completion by the end of the first quarter of 2027 remains the target.