easyJet said it was undervalued in 2021. Two bidders now agree.

Airlines are supposed to be where private capital goes to die. Two American buyout firms are currently in a bidding war over one, and the referee has just added extra time.

easyJet has confirmed that the Takeover Panel consented to extend Castlelake's put up or shut up deadline, so both bidders now share one clock: Apollo and Castlelake have until 5pm London time on Friday 7 August to table a firm offer for the airline or walk away.

The state of play. Castlelake, the Minneapolis-based aviation finance specialist, surfaced in late May and had four proposals rejected before the board said in early July that it was minded to recommend £6.90 a share in cash, roughly £5.5 billion for the equity and a 73% premium to the closing price on 29 May, the day Castlelake's interest became public. Two days later Apollo arrived with £7.15 a share, about £5.7 billion, or $7.6 billion, and by 10 July the board had switched horses. Castlelake has not withdrawn. Hence the aligned deadlines, and hence a week in which a low-cost carrier is the most contested asset in European private equity.

Our read: the interesting number here is not £7.15. It is 410 pence.

In September 2021 easyJet rejected an all-share approach from Wizz Air on the grounds that it "fundamentally undervalued" the company, then raised £1.2 billion in a rights issue at 410 pence a share, a 35.8% discount to a theoretical ex-rights price of 638 pence. The market took the point badly, and the shares spent the following years being priced like a seasonal business with a hangover. As late as 29 May this year the stock closed just under £4. The board spent five years insisting the market had it wrong. It has taken two American private equity firms and one bidding war to concede the point at a 73% premium.