The interest would be part of a transport integration strategy
Geneva – Major maneuvers in the aviation and transport sector. The dossier of the low-cost airline EasyJet – which just announced a strongly recovering pre-tax profit, expected to be between 700 and 720 million pounds – is said to have landed on the table of the Msc group, the maritime giant led by Gianluigi Aponte. This is reported today by Corriere della Sera, citing market sources.
The interest of Msc, which boasts an estimated liquidity of between 55 and 60 billion euros, would be part of a transport integration strategy: EasyJet would be particularly useful for the group’s cruise activities, thanks to its strong position in the key markets of Italy, France, Greece, Spain, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, and Switzerland.
A potential official step for the acquisition, in an operation that would value the airline at around 4 billion pounds, would take place in tandem with an investment fund. The model would mirror operations already carried out by Msc, such as the acquisition of Italo high-speed trains with Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP) or port investments with BlackRock.
Msc denies any direct involvement. The low-cost airline’s response is similar: “We do not comment on speculation,” state sources from EasyJet.
The interest fits into a post-pandemic trend that sees maritime giants (like Kuehne+Nagel in Lufthansa and Cma Cgm in Air France-KLM) investing massively in the airline segment to guarantee their logistics chain and tourism offerings.
