Carlyle, Cyrus Plan London Southend Airport Takeover to End Debt Dispute.

Esken, the owner of Southend Airport, is considering a deal that could see it lose control of the airport as part of a settlement with US private equity firm Carlyle over a loan dispute. Esken borrowed £125m from Carlyle during the Covid-19 pandemic in 2021 to secure its finances, but Carlyle claimed that Esken had broken the terms of its loan and demanded £200m back in a court case filed last year. Esken has until March 4 to decide whether it wants to accept a recapitalisation proposal with Carlyle, which would involve the US firm taking ownership and providing £32m in new funding.

February 19, 2024
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