The firm made an offer of €5.4 billion for 49 percent of the airline; however, easyJet rejected the offer, calling it “opportunistic”, according to Publituris.

Travel Weekly reports that this is the third time the airline has rejected a takeover bid by the investment firm, prompting Castlelake to make the offer public in an attempt to urge shareholders to reconsider the proposal.

Shareholder’s best interests

In Castlelake’s latest offer, the firm proposed paying 6.25 pounds per share, amounting to approximately €7.21, representing a 24 percent premium over the airline’s share price last Friday.

According to Travel Weekly, easyJet considered this proposal “highly opportunistic”, as it was "presented in a context of a temporary fall in easyJet's share price, and fundamentally underestimates easyJet and its prospects."

Affected by conflict

According to easyJet, the share price analyses conducted by Castlelake were based on share prices affected by the conflict in the Middle East and short-term earnings.

"They do not reflect easyJet's medium-term prospects, its strong balance sheet and capital structure, let alone provide an adequate control premium," the airline said.

Furthermore, easyJet adds that although the current year has been affected by temporary disruptions related to the conflict in the Middle East, easyJet “remains focused on achieving its medium-term goal of generating pre-tax profits exceeding one billion pounds.”

Deadline Friday

These airline statements resulted in Castlelake accusing the easyJet board of unwillingness to engage in meaningful dialogue, while assuring that the investment firm’s ambition is to “support easyJet as a stronger and more resilient European airline, under European control, respecting easyJet's valuable assets and continuing to maintain its route network, serving the passengers who depend on it and enabling future growth."

According to Travel Weekly, Castlelake already holds a 2.14 percent stake in easyJet, and the investment firm now has until 26 June to submit a firm offer or abandon the deal.