If you have ever flown from London Luton to Barcelona for less than the price of a nice dinner, chances are you flew easyJet. For nearly three decades, this bright orange airline has been the symbol of budget air travel in Europe — affordable, no-frills, and everywhere. But this week, everything changed. On August 6, 2026, easyJet agreed to be taken over by Apollo Global Management, one of the biggest private equity firms in the world, in a deal worth £5.7 billion — ending months of drama, a bidding war, and one of the most closely watched corporate battles in British aviation history.
Here is the complete ownership story of easyJet — from its founding in a tiny office at Luton Airport in 1995 to the landmark deal signed just two days ago.
What Is easyJet?
easyJet (EZJ) is a British low-cost airline headquartered at London Luton Airport. Founded in 1994 by Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou, it is one of Europe’s largest low-cost carriers.
easyJet carried 82.8 million passengers in FY2023 and has grown into one of the dominant forces in European budget aviation, competing directly with Ryanair, Wizz Air, and Jet2 across hundreds of routes.
The airline built its entire identity on a simple promise: get passengers from point A to point B at the lowest possible price, with no unnecessary frills in between. That formula — combined with smart route selection, aggressive pricing, and a recognizable brand — turned a startup founded with a £5 million family loan into a company worth £5.7 billion today.
Who Owns easyJet Right Now in 2026?
This is where the story gets genuinely historic. As of August 6, 2026, easyJet has agreed to be acquired by Apollo Global Management in a fully recommended all-cash deal. This is the most significant ownership event in the airline’s entire history.
Apollo Global Management has agreed to buy easyJet in a deal valuing the European budget airline at approximately £5.7 billion ($7.7 billion). The deal ends months of uncertainty surrounding one of Europe’s biggest low-cost airlines as the industry grapples with rising costs. Apollo will pay 715 pence per share in cash. The airline’s board unanimously recommends the transaction.
The deal will see Eagle Bidco, a firm indirectly owned by the Apollo Funds, take over the UK-based budget carrier. Under the agreement, easyJet shareholders will have the option to either sell or transfer shares for a combined holding of up to 49.9% in the company. This includes easyJet founder Stelios Haji-Ioannou and his family, who will retain their shareholding under the new ownership structure. Apollo will hold up to 49.9%, while up to 5% will be held by an EU Trust linked to a management incentivization plan.
The deal is expected to close by the end of the first quarter of 2027, subject to regulatory and shareholder approvals.
easyJet Ownership and Key Stakeholders Table
| Owner / Shareholder | Type | Stake | Key Detail |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apollo Global Management | Incoming Owner (pending deal close) | Up to 49.9% of new parent company | Agreed £5.7B ($7.7B) all-cash takeover on August 6, 2026; manages ~$1.05 trillion in assets |
| Haji-Ioannou Family (easyGroup) | Founder & Largest Existing Shareholder | ~15.3% (retained post-deal) | Founder Sir Stelios supports the Apollo deal; retains easyJet brand ownership via easyGroup |
| EU Trust (Management Incentive Plan) | Governance Structure | Up to 5% | Created to ensure EU nationality ownership rules are met for flying rights |
| BlackRock, Inc. | Institutional Investor | ~9–10% of EZJ shares | World’s largest asset manager; major pre-deal institutional holder |
| Vanguard Group | Institutional Investor | ~4–6% of EZJ shares | Passive index fund giant; consistent EZJ holder |
| Norges Bank (Norway) | Sovereign Wealth Fund | Significant EZJ stake | Norway’s Government Pension Fund; global equity investor |
| Invesco Ltd. | Institutional Investor | Significant EZJ stake | Active fund manager with meaningful EZJ position |
| Kenton Jarvis | CEO | Minimal insider stake | Succeeded Johan Lundgren as CEO in early 2025; leads the airline into private ownership |
| Castlelake LP | Former Rival Bidder | 0% — withdrew | Submitted 5 bids before Apollo entered and won; walked away on August 6, 2026 |
The Origin Story: A £5 Million Loan and a Big Orange Dream
The story of who owns easyJet today cannot be told without starting from the very beginning — with a Greek-Cypriot entrepreneur, his father’s fortune, and a tiny airline with two leased planes.
Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou launched easyJet in 1995 at London Luton Airport using family shipping capital. The initial capital was a £5,000,000 loan from his father, Loucas Haji-Ioannou, a Greek shipping billionaire. The business model was point-to-point, with no complimentary meals and direct sales — revolutionary for the era.
Stelios had watched American low-cost carrier Southwest Airlines transform domestic air travel in the United States and believed the same model could work in Europe. He was right. Within a few years, easyJet was growing rapidly, adding routes, planes, and passengers at a pace that traditional airlines could not match.
The IPO came in November 2000, with an initial valuation of approximately £770 million. The transition to public ownership began, and the Haji-Ioannou family progressively sold down their holdings over two decades — though they remained the single largest shareholder throughout.
A landmark moment came in 2002 when easyJet acquired Go Fly, the budget airline launched by British Airways as a direct competitor. That acquisition doubled easyJet’s size overnight and firmly established it as the second-largest low-cost carrier in Europe after Ryanair.
The Apollo Takeover: How the Biggest Deal in easyJet History Happened
The story of how Apollo came to own easyJet is a fast-moving drama that played out over just a few months — and ended with a stunning victory for Apollo over rival bidder Castlelake.
Castlelake had submitted five bids for easyJet before Apollo entered the fray in July 2026, topping Castlelake’s £5.5 billion proposal and securing the backing of the airline’s board.
easyJet said on Friday it had agreed in principle to Apollo Global Management’s cash offer of £7.15 a share, worth about £5.7 billion, which the board judged a “superior outcome” for shareholders than the £6.90 a share tabled by Castlelake. Having accepted Castlelake’s proposal only the previous Sunday, the Luton-based airline said it was “no longer minded to recommend” it.
Founder Stelios Haji-Ioannou confirmed his family’s backing with an official statement: “Having carefully reviewed the proposal by Apollo, my family members and I have decided to support the recommended acquisition announced by the easyJet board.”
Apollo’s ownership structure deliberately caps its stake in the new parent at 49.9% to comply with EU/UK rules requiring the airline to stay majority-owned and controlled by EU nationals, preserving its operating certificates in the UK, Austria, and Switzerland. Apollo pledges to accelerate the existing strategy, protect jobs and pensions, and target Q1 2027 completion.
Who Is Apollo Global Management?
Apollo manages about $1.05 trillion in assets and has previously invested in Sun Country Airlines, Aeroméxico, and Atlas Air. It plans to accelerate easyJet’s commercial ambitions — including expanding its fast-growing holidays business — under private ownership.
Apollo Global Management is one of the largest alternative asset management firms in the world. Founded in 1990 by Leon Black, Marc Rowan (current CEO), and Josh Harris, Apollo specializes in private equity, credit, and real assets. It is publicly traded on the NYSE under the ticker APO.
The airline sector is not new territory for Apollo. Its experience restructuring Aeroméxico through bankruptcy and backing Sun Country Airlines gives it credibility as an airline owner — and suggests it understands both the opportunities and the brutal economics of the aviation industry.
Why Is easyJet Going Private?
easyJet becomes the latest London-listed company taken private by private equity, continuing a trend of UK firms moving into private ownership while the FTSE 100 trades at a discount to US markets.
The underlying reason is simple: easyJet’s share price had significantly underperformed its intrinsic value for years. The airline was making good money, expanding its holidays business, and growing passenger numbers — but the stock market was not giving it full credit. Apollo saw an opportunity to buy a fundamentally strong business at what it believed was a discount, take it private, improve its operations and financial structure, and eventually sell it at a profit — either through a future IPO or a sale to another buyer.
For easyJet’s board and shareholders, the £7.15 per share offer represented a substantial premium to where the stock was trading before takeover interest emerged — making it an attractive deal to recommend.
What Happens to the easyJet Brand?
One critically important detail in this deal: Apollo does not own the easyJet brand, and never will.
Founder Stelios Haji-Ioannou’s family retains ownership of the easyJet brand through his private easyGroup, which will continue licensing the name to the airline in perpetuity.
This is the same structure that has existed since the company went public in 2000. Sir Stelios has always separated the brand from the operating company — easyGroup owns the “easy” brand across all its various businesses (easyJet, easyHotel, easyCar, and others), and the operating companies pay a licensing fee to use it. Apollo is buying the airline — not the name.
The EU Ownership Rules: The Clever Legal Structure
One of the most technically complex aspects of this deal is how Apollo gets around EU airline ownership rules.
European airlines are currently required to be majority-owned and controlled by EU countries or citizens. This includes UK-based airlines such as easyJet that operate flights entirely within the EU.
Following the deal, Apollo anticipates that the family of Haji-Ioannou and other shareholders remaining invested will hold between 45.1% and 49.9% of the ordinary capital of the purchasing vehicle. An EU management trust will hold up to 5%. Apollo’s funds will hold the rest, up to a maximum of 49.9%.
In simple terms: Apollo structured the deal so that it technically owns less than half of the new parent company. The Haji-Ioannou family — who are EU/EEA nationals through their Greek-Cypriot heritage — and an EU Trust together hold a majority. This keeps easyJet compliant with aviation regulations that require EU majority control, while still giving Apollo effective economic control over the business.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Q1. Who owns easyJet in 2026?
easyJet has agreed to a £5.7 billion takeover by Apollo Global Management, announced on August 6, 2026, pending regulatory approval expected by Q1 2027.
Q2. Who founded easyJet?
easyJet was founded in 1995 by Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou, a Greek-Cypriot entrepreneur, using a £5 million loan from his shipping billionaire father Loucas Haji-Ioannou.
Q3. How much is the Apollo easyJet deal worth?
Apollo Global Management is acquiring easyJet for £5.7 billion ($7.7 billion) in cash at £7.15 per share — the largest deal in easyJet’s history.
Q4. Does Stelios Haji-Ioannou still own part of easyJet? Y
es. The Haji-Ioannou family holds 15.3% of easyJet and will retain their stake under the new Apollo ownership structure, remaining long-term investors.
Q5. Does Apollo own the easyJet brand? No. The easyJet brand is permanently owned by Sir Stelios’s private company easyGroup, which licenses the name to the airline. Apollo buys the airline — not the brand.
Q6. Why is easyJet being taken private?
easyJet’s stock was significantly undervalued relative to its business performance. Apollo saw an opportunity to buy a strong airline at a discount, improve it under private ownership, and eventually profit from a future sale or re-listing.
Q7. Who was the rival bidder for easyJet before Apollo?
Castlelake LP, a US private equity firm, submitted five bids for easyJet before Apollo entered the contest in July 2026 with a higher offer of £7.15 per share, after which Castlelake withdrew on August 6, 2026.
Q8. Who is the current CEO of easyJet in 2026?
Kenton Jarvis is the CEO of easyJet, having succeeded Johan Lundgren in early 2025. He will continue leading the airline through the transition to Apollo’s private ownership.
easyJet was founded in 1995 by Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou with a £5 million family loan and a dream of making air travel affordable for everyone. It went public in 2000, acquired Go Fly in 2002, and grew into one of Europe’s two biggest budget airlines — carrying tens of millions of passengers every year.
On August 6, 2026 — just two days ago — easyJet’s board unanimously agreed to a £5.7 billion ($7.7 billion) all-cash takeover by Apollo Global Management, ending a bidding war with rival Castlelake. Apollo will hold up to 49.9% of the new parent company, with the Haji-Ioannou family retaining their 15.3% stake and the easyJet brand remaining permanently in Sir Stelios’s easyGroup. The deal is expected to close by Q1 2027, subject to regulatory and shareholder approvals.