£27m shipping windfall for easyJet boss

EasyJet entrepreneur Stelios Haji-Ioannou was today set for a £26.6m (€39m) windfall from the sale of the shipping business he founded in 1992.

Mr Haji-Ioannou owns 7% of Greek-based oil transporter Stelmar, which has agreed to be taken over by investment group Fortress for $677m (€556.4m/£379.7m).

Members of his family own a further 20% of Stelmar and will share $135.4m (€111.2m/£76m) if the deal is completed.

Mr Haji-Ioannou stepped down as chairman of Stelmar in 2002 – just 12 months after the company floated on the New York Stock Exchange.

In addition to budget airline easyJet, he and his family manage a portfolio of businesses under the “easy” banner that includes easyInternetcafe, easyCinema, easyBus, easyPizza and easyCar.

Mr Haji-Ioannou first expressed a willingness to sell his stake in Stelmar in May when he backed a merger with US tanker owner and operator OMI Corp.

But that bid was scuppered by a refusal of the Stelmar board to hold talks with OMI on the grounds that it was not in the interests of shareholders.

Today’s offer from Fortress represents a 55% premium on the closing share price on May 14 – the last trading day before the bid from tanker owner and operator OMI Corp was announced.

Fortress, which is based in New York, is an investment firm with about $10bn (€8.2bn/£5.6bn) under management.