Monarch takeover rumours

After stories suggesting flybe was seeking to run domestic services from Heathrow, two more airlines were caught up in the rumour mill last week with easyjet said to be considering a bid for Monarch. Easyjet has not commented.

The story surfaced in The Sunday Times, which noted that Monarch had achieved a business turnaround after being bought in 2014 by the London-based investment company Greybull Capital.

Greybull acquired the Monarch Group, which like easyJet is based at Luton Airport, from the Mantegazza family of Switzerland when the airline was said to be “on the brink of collapse”. Helped by the fuel price drop, it made a profit last year of £40m.

Greybull is said to have appointed Deutsche Bank to investigate “inbound and outbound opportunities” for Monarch. A statement said the “key focus” of management and shareholders remained “the successful development and growth” of the airline.

Chinese interests are also reported to be looking at Monarch with the Haikou-based conglomerate HNA Group among the possible suitors. 

Another option according to The Sunday Telegraph could be for Monarch to do the taking over by bidding for European carriers such as Air Berlin, Tuifly or Thomas Cook Airlines.   www.easyjet.com   www.monarch.co.uk   www.greybull.co.uk

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