By Kate Duffy | Updated on Oct 08, 2026 at 08:50 AM
Apollo Global Management Inc.’s deal to acquire EasyJet Plc for £5.7 billion ($7.5 billion) is on track for completion early next year, the airline’s chief executive officer said.
“I don’t see a real barrier from shareholder sentiment, that’s what I’m hearing,” CEO Kenton Jarvis said Thursday in an interview at the Airlines for Europe lobby group meeting in Brussels. “And from regulators, we’ll just have to wait and see.”
In the meantime, rising fuel costs are prompting the airline to cut capacity by as many as 700,000 seats this winter. If fuel gets even more expensive, fares will go up, Jarvis said.
US private equity firm Apollo agreed in August to buy the budget carrier after rival bidder Castlelake LP dropped out. The scheme document is set to be published next Thursday.
Apollo will be gaining control of an airline that helped pioneer ultra low-cost travel in Europe and owns many attractive assets, including a fleet of modern Airbus SE A320-type jets; landing slots at constrained airports in London, Milan and Geneva; and a thriving vacation packages business.
The company’s biggest shareholder is the family of founder Stelios Haji-Ioannou with 15.3%. The founder, who favors the deal, will have a voice on the board going forward, Jarvis said.
As a US entity, Apollo is unable to gain full control of EasyJet because the carrier operates under UK and European rules that require majority ownership and control by regional nationals. That requirement will be met, according to the deal terms.
The EasyJet name will continue after the deal closes, Jarvis said in the interview. This was his first media availability since the deal was agreed to.