EasyJet founder opposes $13 billion Airbus deal

  • Bloomberg News
  • Monday, July 1, 2013 12:48pm
  • Business

LONDON — EasyJet founder and No. 1 shareholder Stelios Haji-Ioannou said he will vote against a management plan to buy 135 Airbus SAS jets valued at $13.2 billion, citing a lack of transparency to the transaction.

“It is my firm opinion that this is a good deal for Airbus and a bad deal for EasyJet shareholders,” Stelios, who is known by his first name, said in a letter to fellow investors in Europe’s second-largest discount carrier.

The founder, who said he expects the transaction to be approved in a vote on July 11, owns just less than 37 percent of the company. Standard Life Investments and Prudential Plc’s M&G Investments declined to comment on their voting intentions. They own about 8 percent and 5.3 percent of the shares, respectively, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

EasyJet agreed on June 18 to buy 135 A320 single-aisle planes, with an option for 100 more as it goes head-to-head with network carriers such as British Airways by targeting a bigger share of Europe’s business-travel market. Some 85 of the 135 aircraft will replace old jets, with the remainder helping to boost seat capacity by 3 percent to 5 percent annually, the carrier said last month.

“I am not against replacing aircraft that have reached the end of their economic life,” Stelios said. “However, I am against buying aircraft that are three times more expensive than the ones I bought with my own money in the early 2000s.”

EasyJet declined to comment when contacted by Bloomberg News on Monday.

Stelios, who trimmed his holding earlier this year and threatened to sell more shares if the airline added new planes, said he was “disappointed” that Chairman John Barton, who joined this year, approved a large transaction so quickly. He also expressed concern that shareholders are being asked to approve a deal without clear price information.

Carriers typically buy airliners at a discount, and the price per plane isn’t revealed, at the manufacturer’s request.

Standard Life and M&G have supported the board during previous disputes. Both investors voted against Stelios and in favor of management in August last year to keep then-Chairman Mike Rake in his position.

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Business

Black Press Media operates Sound Publishing, the largest community news organization in Washington State with dailies and community news outlets in Alaska.
Black Press Media concludes transition of ownership

Black Press Media, which operates Sound Publishing, completed its sale Monday (March 25), following the formerly announced corporate restructuring.

Maygen Hetherington, executive director of the Historic Downtown Snohomish Association, laughs during an interview in her office on Thursday, Feb. 15, 2024, in Snohomish, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Maygen Hetherington: tireless advocate for the city of Snohomish

Historic Downtown Snohomish Association receives the Opportunity Lives Here award from Economic Alliance.

FILE - Washington Secretary of State Steve Hobbs poses in front of photos of the 15 people who previously held the office on Nov. 22, 2021, after he was sworn in at the Capitol in Olympia, Wash. Hobbs faces several challengers as he runs for election to the office he was appointed to last fall. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren, File)
Secretary of State Steve Hobbs: ‘I wanted to serve my country’

Hobbs, a former Lake Stevens senator, is the recipient of the Henry M. Jackson Award from Economic Alliance Snohomish County.

Mark Duffy poses for a photo in his office at the Mountain Pacific Bank headquarters on Wednesday, Feb. 14, 2024 in Everett, Washington. (Annie Barker / The Herald)
Mark Duffy: Building a hometown bank; giving kids an opportunity

Mountain Pacific Bank’s founder is the recipient of the Fluke Award from Economic Alliance Snohomish County.

Barb Tolbert poses for a photo at Silver Scoop Ice Cream on Thursday, Feb. 29, 2024 in Arlington, Washington. (Annie Barker / The Herald)
Barb Tolbert: Former mayor piloted Arlington out of economic brink

Tolbert won the Elson S. Floyd Award, honoring a leader who has “created lasting opportunities” for the underserved.

Photo provided by 
Economic Alliance
Economic Alliance presented one of the Washington Rising Stem Awards to Katie Larios, a senior at Mountlake Terrace High School.
Mountlake Terrace High School senior wins state STEM award

Katie Larios was honored at an Economic Alliance gathering: “A champion for other young women of color in STEM.”

The Westwood Rainier is one of the seven ships in the Westwood line. The ships serve ports in the Pacific Northwest and Northeast Asia. (Photo provided by Swire Shipping)
Westwood Shipping Lines, an Everett mainstay, has new name

The four green-hulled Westwood vessels will keep their names, but the ships will display the Swire Shipping flag.

A Keyport ship docked at Lake Union in Seattle in June 2018. The ship spends most of the year in Alaska harvesting Golden King crab in the Bering Sea. During the summer it ties up for maintenance and repairs at Lake Union. (Keyport LLC)
In crabbers’ turbulent moment, Edmonds seafood processor ‘saved our season’

When a processing plant in Alaska closed, Edmonds-based business Keyport stepped up to solve a “no-win situation.”

Angela Harris, Executive Director of the Port of Edmonds, stands at the port’s marina on Wednesday, Jan. 24, 2024, in Edmonds, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Leadership, love for the Port of Edmonds got exec the job

Shoring up an aging seawall is the first order of business for Angela Harris, the first woman to lead the Edmonds port.

The Cascade Warbirds fly over Naval Station Everett. (Sue Misao / The Herald file)
Bothell High School senior awarded $2,500 to keep on flying

Cascade Warbirds scholarship helps students 16-21 continue flight training and earn a private pilot’s certificate.

Rachel Gardner, the owner of Musicology Co., a new music boutique record store on Thursday, Jan. 18, 2024 in Edmonds, Washington. Musicology Co. will open in February, selling used and new vinyl, CDs and other music-related merchandise. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
New Edmonds record shop intends to be a ‘destination for every musician’

Rachel Gardner opened Musicology Co. this month, filling a record store gap in Edmonds.

MyMyToyStore.com owner Tom Harrison at his brick and mortar storefront on Tuesday, Sept. 6, 2022 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Burst pipe permanently closes downtown Everett toy store

After a pipe flooded the store, MyMyToystore in downtown Everett closed. Owner Tom Harrison is already on to his next venture.

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.