{"id":32612,"date":"2026-06-08T16:25:08","date_gmt":"2026-06-08T16:25:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/32612\/"},"modified":"2026-06-08T16:25:08","modified_gmt":"2026-06-08T16:25:08","slug":"msc-linked-to-easyjet-takeover-move-air-france-klm-rule-nothing-out","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/32612\/","title":{"rendered":"MSC Linked to EasyJet Takeover Move, Air France-KLM Rule Nothing Out"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>\t\t\t<img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-265596 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Easyjet.jpg\" alt=\"EasyJet\" width=\"800\" height=\"450\"  \/>Photographed by Adrian Pingstone in August 2005 and released to the public domain.<\/p>\n<p>Speculation has surfaced that the world\u2019s largest shipping company, MSC, may be expanding into the airline industry. <\/p>\n<p>Reuters <a href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/business\/us-castlelake-looking-msc-shipping-giant-partner-easyjet-bid-report-says-2026-06-04\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">reports<\/a> that American investment firm Castlelake has tapped MSC to join a consortium planning a takeover bid to purchase EasyJet, a London-based low-cost air carrier.<\/p>\n<p>EasyJet shares are up about 15% since Castlelake said it was contemplating a takeover of the carrier last week. But, under EU ownership rules, the US firm would require a European partner.<\/p>\n<p>Neither EasyJet nor MSC have commented on the reports. However, when <a href=\"https:\/\/www.globalbankingandfinance.com\/easyjet-stocks-six\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">similar<\/a> claims emerged last October, the shipping company denied having any interest in purchasing the UK airline. The Swiss-based MSC already has diverse holdings in the global transportation sector with a passenger cruise lines, including a luxury line, container shipping and logistics, as well as high-speed rail.<\/p>\n<p>Dan Coatsworth, head of markets at AJ Bell, told <a href=\"https:\/\/www.investments.halifax.co.uk\/research-centre\/news-centre\/article\/?id=21037343&amp;type=bsm#:~:text=Logistics%20firm%20Mediterranean%20Shipping%20Company,investment%20in%20budget%20airline%20easyJet.\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">Halifax Investments<\/a> that EasyJet is no stranger to takeover rumours and that MSC ownership would make sense given the conglomerate&#8217;s current portfolio.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;MSC is involved in air cargo so already has a foot in the aviation industry,&#8221; he said. &#8220;Where the two companies closer align is in serving a consumer audience. MSC has a cruise business and might take the view that EasyJet is a cheap way to expand into other parts of the consumer leisure market.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;EasyJet is a big name in low-cost travel, and it has a fast-growing package holidays arm,&#8221; Coatsworth added. &#8220;Bolt those together with a cruise business and you\u2019ve got the right ingredients for a bigger beast in the leisure industry.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Air France-KLM have also expressed interest in joining the Castlelake consortium, although the company hasn&#8217;t entered any formal discussions.<\/p>\n<p>Speaking to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bloomberg.com\/news\/articles\/2026-06-07\/air-france-klm-keeps-door-ajar-on-easyjet-role-as-bid-looms\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">Bloomberg News<\/a> at the International Air Transport Association annual general meeting in Brazil, AF-KL CEO Ben Smith said he would &#8220;absolutely&#8221; answer the call, if Castlelake approached him with a joint bid.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Photographed by Adrian Pingstone in August 2005 and released to the public domain. Speculation has surfaced that the&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":32613,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13058],"tags":[739,2469,7830,23338],"class_list":["post-32612","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-air-france","tag-air-france","tag-easyjet","tag-klm","tag-msc"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32612","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=32612"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32612\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/32613"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=32612"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=32612"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=32612"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}