Industry observers are once more suggesting that Stelios Haji-Ioannou is considering taking the EasyJet company private, just weeks after the firm’s share price plummeted on the back of a profit warning.
The Guardian today reports that Haji-Ioannou is becoming “increasingly frustrated” at the company’s stock market performance, and that he is considering all options.
The newspaper states that, based on the share price, EasyJet is now worth GBP627 million, compared to GBP2 billion when Haji-Ioannou was in charge.
A spokesman for the company is quoted as saying: “It is an option but nothing has been decided. Stelios is very keen to be more than a passive shareholder; he wants to be an active one as well. He will do everything he can to increase the value of his shareholding.”
The Guardian suggests that one option for Haji-Ioannou would be to buy back the company and then sell it again “when some of the low-cost rivals have disappeared”.
Report by Tim Gillett, News From Abroad
