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LONDON — British no-frills airline EasyJet rejected on Thursday a fourth informal takeover proposal from a US private equity firm, but left the door open to possible talks on a higher offer.
EasyJet said the latest offer from Castlelake of 6.50 sterling pounds per share, still totalling about 5 billion sterling pounds, "substantially" undervalues the carrier, which flies mostly across Europe.
However, EasyJet agreed to provide the firm with more access to commercial information and requested to extend the deadline for a formal bid to July 5, which was approved by UK regulators.
"The board believes that giving Castlelake access to limited commercial information... might produce a more attractive proposal that better reflects the value of EasyJet," the carrier said in a statement.
Castlelake said in a short statement that it "welcomes the EasyJet board's constructive engagement" and extension given to make a formal offer beyond Friday's original deadline.
EasyJet's previously said it considered Castlelake's approach "highly opportunistic" given that its share price had fallen and company losses had increased after the Middle East war sent jet fuel costs rocketing.
EasyJet's share price closed up 6.4 per cent at 5.74 sterling pounds on Thursday, far below the latest offer, indicating that investors do not yet believe a deal will be struck.
Under the proposal, Castlelake and its co-investors would own 49 per cent of the airline.
The remaining 51 per cent would be owned by European Union nationals including two airline industry veterans, Peter Bellew and Mark Breen, since EasyJet operates within EU countries.
EasyJet has expressed concerns about the ownership structure in the takeover bid, without going into further detail.
Under UK takeover rules, if Castlelake does not table a formal bid by the July 5 deadline, it must walk away for six months.
