According to an EU official, the review aims to ensure that European airlines remain under effective EU control and to prevent foreign investors from gaining de facto control through complex corporate structures, News.Az reports, citing Reuters.
The proposed review, expected to begin this autumn, would clarify how existing ownership and control rules should be applied. Under current EU regulations, airlines must remain at least 51% owned and effectively controlled by EU interests to retain their operating rights within the bloc.
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The announcement comes as U.S. investment firms Apollo Global Management and Castlelake compete to acquire easyJet. Earlier this month, easyJet backed Apollo’s £5.7 billion ($7.65 billion) takeover proposal, which topped Castlelake’s previous £5.5 billion offer.
While the proposed acquisition has drawn significant attention, the companies have yet to explain how the transaction would satisfy the EU’s majority ownership requirements for airlines.
The EU official said regulators have not yet held discussions with Apollo, Castlelake or easyJet regarding the specific structures of the proposed deals.
The review is intended to safeguard the bloc’s “strategic autonomy” by ensuring foreign investors cannot obtain effective control of European carriers, the official said.
“The concern is that the industry is on the wrong foot, thinking that we no longer enforce the rules strictly,” the official told Reuters. “People will go down the wrong alley because there’s a wrong perception.”
Investors reacted negatively to the news, with easyJet shares falling sharply after Reuters first reported the planned review.
If completed, the review could have implications beyond easyJet, potentially influencing how future private equity acquisitions of European airlines are structured in one of the world’s most tightly regulated aviation markets.
