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Shares in easyJet jumped after reports that the Swiss-headquartered shipping company MSC was considering a takeover of Europe’s second-largest budget airline.
The shares shot up 12% after a report from Corriere Della Sera, an Italian publication, which cited three unnamed sources familiar with the matter, their biggest bump in three years.
A number of investors are considering a bid for easyJet, with options ranging from a majority stake to full control, according to the paper.
Shares in easyJet pared back some of their earlier gains by midday after easyJet said it did not comment on speculation and MSC denied direct involvement in the talks, though were still trading up by about 4.5%.
It would not be the first time the budget carrier has attracted takeover interest. In 2021, the company rejected an approach from its rival Wizz Air.
Dan Coatsworth, the head of markets at the broker AJ Bell, said the reports could spark interest from other potential bidders.
“Shareholders might be getting frustrated that the market isn’t placing a higher value on easyJet, so they could be receptive to a bid if the price is right,” he said. “Stelios Haji-Ioannou could be the blocker, however, as he would no doubt want top dollar.”
Haji-Ioannou is the billionaire founder of easyJet, and remains its biggest single shareholder, with a stake of about 15% in the business.
The FTSE 100 company, which is headquartered in Luton and employs more than 16,000 people around the world, is one of Europe’s three biggest budget airline, behind Ryanair, with Wizz Air in third place.
Its shares are trading at less than half their level before the pandemic, as the company has grappled with volatile fuel costs, fragile consumer confidence and supply chain problems across the sector.
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However, easyJet told investors in May it was on track to achieve more than £1bn in pre-tax profit over the medium term. Last year it made £602m in pre-tax profit on £9.3bn in revenue.
A takeover of the FTSE 100 company would mark another significant loss for London’s struggling stock market, which has suffered a series of high-profile exits in recent years, including the construction equipment rental company Ashtead, the gambling group Flutter Entertainment and the building materials provider CRH.
MSC, which is headquartered in Geneva, teamed up with Lufthansa in 2022 to launch a bid for ITA Airways, though this ultimately failed. The group also operates passenger divisions such as MSC Cruises and Grandi Navi Veloci.
Alex Irving, an analyst at the broker Bernstein, said: “While the industrial logic in a combination between MSC and Europe’s second-largest point to point airline is not obvious to us, could there be a break-up play?”
