British budget airline easyJet agreed to a proposal from Apollo Global Management to take over the group for 5.7 billion pounds ($7.68 billion), capping a weekslong bidding war with American private equity and aircraft leasing group Castlelake.

Apollo is proposing 7.15 pounds in cash for each easyJet share, terms that easyJet called fair and reasonable. The Haji-Ioannou family, easyJet's largest shareholders said they would support the transaction.

"Having carefully reviewed the proposal by Apollo, my family members and I have decided to support the recommended acquisition announced by the easyJet board," Stelios Haji-Ioannou, who established easyJet decades ago, said. The airline had agreed last month to Apollo's offer, which trumped an early provisional agreement with Castlelake.

Castlelake had made a number of approaches for easyJet in recent weeks, culminating in a roughly $7 billion agreement in principle before Apollo stepped in. However, Castlelake said Thursday that it would wouldn't make a formal bid for easyJet.

Apollo said it had followed easyJet for years, calling out its expansive network and operations in attractive markets. The group also said easyJet's management team had in recent years made strong progress in diversifying easyJet's business model and bolstering its fleet.

EasyJet shares were up 3.4% at 6.74 pounds in afternoon trade in Europe.