Wizz Air open to M&A approaches, CEO says

Wizz Air Holdings CEO Jozsef Varadi said he’s prepared to embrace acquisitions should a compelling deal emerge as travel rebounds from coronavirus lockdowns. Varadi declined to comment on the fast-growing discount carrier’s reported approach for EasyJet last month. While any takeover would need to maintain Wizz’s cost discipline, the Budapest-based company is “not resistant” to M&A, the CEO said.“Given our low-cost business model we are not a natural consolidator and it doesn’t come to us intuitively, but that’s not to say that we won’t be looking at opportunities as they arise,” the CEO said Tuesday. EasyJet said last month that it rejected a buyout approach from an unnamed suitor -- Wizz, according to people familiar with the matter -- as too low. Analysts said a deal would make sense, with the UK carrier’s strength in Western Europe complementing Wizz to the east. While Wizz isn’t set up for consolidation like diversified network carriers such as IAG, it’s considered around 20 potential deals over a decade or more, Varadi said. “We are not blind when it comes to how the market is going,” he said.<br/>