British low-cost carrier easyJet is set to disappear from the London Stock Exchange after nearly three decades. Shareholders have overwhelmingly backed a £5.7 billion ($7.57 billion) takeover by US private equity giant Apollo, with 97.07% voting in favour at a price of 715p ($9.50) per share. The deal should close by the end of March, subject to regulatory sign-off, ending 26 years as a publicly listed company.

Apollo won't own everything outright. Apollo Funds will hold up to 49.9% of the airline, rollover shareholders who take shares instead of cash will hold between 45.1% and 49.9%, and an EU Trust will keep up to 5%. Founder Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou, who started the airline in 1995 and holds 15% with his family, is understood to have backed the sale. The airline had already been trimming costs, consulting on around 50 head office job cuts from a 2,300-person team, and had previously held talks with US investment firm Castlelake.

For Apollo, this is a modest outlay. The New York-based firm, ranked 29th in Private Equity International's 2024 global ranking, managed $840 billion in assets in 2025 with $99 billion in private equity. Its best-known UK consumer business is The Restaurant Group, owner of Wagamama.

The prize is a fleet of 199 Airbus narrowbody jets, including 74 newer A320neo-family aircraft with an average fleet age of just 11.6 years. The good news for passengers and staff: Apollo plans to keep things steady. easyJet stays a standalone business with its existing branding, its UK headquarters, and its UK, Austrian and Swiss Air Operator Certificates all intact. No redundancies are planned in the first 12 months of ownership.

Changes will come, though. Apollo intends to inject extra capital and let the airline plan over longer horizons than quarterly stock market reporting allows. Two visible shifts are on the cards: a much more expansive loyalty scheme and premium cabin elements on selected routes. The stated strategy, according to the Financial Times, is to do more with what easyJet already has while keeping the low-cost model that made it Europe's go-to budget carrier.

For travellers, don't expect the orange planes to change course overnight. Routes, fares and bookings should carry on as normal through the transition. The interesting story for frequent flyers is the loyalty overhaul — easyJet's current Flight Club scheme is thin by airline standards, and a serious push there could make the carrier far more attractive to regular European travellers. And if premium seating appears on busier routes like London to Geneva or Alicante, budget flyers may soon have a middle ground between low-cost legroom and full-service fares. Watch this space over the next year.

Story source: Simple Flying