ROME, June 4 (Reuters) - U.S. investment firm Castlelake is looking at MSC, the world's largest shipping group, as a partner in a consortium for a potential takeover bid on British budget airline easyJet, Italian daily Corriere della Sera reported on Thursday.
Castlelake said last week it was in the early stages of considering a possible offer for easyJet that would be over 403.23 pence per share, though no approach has been made to its board. Under UK takeover rules, it has until June 26 to make
a firm bid or walk away.
Should Castlelake decide to present a formal bid for the carrier by that deadline, it hopes to partner up with MSC to ensure its bid complies with EU ownership rules, Corriere reported citing two sources with knowledge of the discussions.
It added that two further sources saw MSC's involvement as possible and that the group had already been contacted.
Swiss-based MSC, run by Italian billionaire Gianluigi Aponte, is a global group which not only runs container shipping and logistics but also manages terminal and inland transport operations and passenger cruises.
It owns a 49% stake in Italian high-speed rail operator Italo.
A combination with easyJet would allow MSC to control the entire leisure travel chain, from flights to cruise ships, in a model similar to German travel group TUI's, the report added.
EasyJet also owns a holiday package business, which launched in 2019.
MSC declined to comment. EasyJet and Castlelake were not immediately available for comment.
(Reporting by Giulia Segreti in Rome, editing by Gianluca Semeraro and Louise Heavens)
