easyJet: Opportunity to attack the Legacies — October 2021

EasyJet received £1.2bn of funding from September’s fully-underwritten rights issue, following its rejection of Wizzair’s takeover offer, putting it in a position to refine and implement its own post-Covid opportunities as the market opening accelerates.

In theory, a merger between Wizzair and easyJet would have been an intriguing proposition — mostly complementary networks, Wizzair’s cost discipline and easyJet’s superior product, A320 NEO fleet compatibility. But the price offered might have been too opportunistic, or there was a conflict over where the HQ would be and who would be in it, or easyJet genuinely believed that it could do better on its own.