Castlelake withdraws from the race for EasyJet. The company is owned by the Apollo fund

After five attempts, the summer season is over. The sector is losing ground due to jet fuel costs and Castlelake has pulled out its lengthy negotiations for EasyJet, refusing to raise its latest bid of 5.5 billion pounds and thus ceding the race for the low-cost airline to Apollo Global Management, which aims to delist the company. The company stated yesterday that it “greatly appreciated the constructive dialogue with EasyJet’s board of directors and management team”, but made it clear that it would not increase its bid. The Minneapolis-based investment firm had previously submitted a series of five escalating bids for EasyJet, which had accepted the latest one in principle before withdrawing in favour of a subsequent higher counter-offer from Apollo. The news was met yesterday by the market with a slump in the share price of over 5 per cent.