Easyjet ready for takeoff ahead of shareholder vote

Easyjet shareholders are poised to wave through Apollo s £5.7bn offer for the budget carrier, in a move that will confirm its departure from the London Stock Exchange after quarter of a century on the capital s bourse. At a shareholder vote on Wednesday investors are likely to rubber stamp the transaction, three months on from the private markets juggernaut prevailing in a bidding war for the carrier against US rival Castlelake. The board approved Apollo s £5.7bn offer for Easyjet in August, after the airline rebuffed a succession of low-ball bids from Minneapolis-headquartered Castlelake. The successful proposal, which valued the carrier s shares at 715p each, was endorsed by Easyjet founder, Stelios Haji-Ioannou who will roll his stake into the new ownership vehicle. One person close to the deal said he did not expect there to be any fireworks at the shareholder vote. Another pointed to the fact Apollo s bid had exceeded the 700p-a-share hurdle that investors had been h