Private equity is circling budget airlines after Apollo's EasyJet deal — and this carrier could be next

More European airlines could be the crosshairs of private equity buyers following Apollo Global Management's swoop for EasyJet — with rival U.K. budget carrier Jet2 emerging as a potential takeover target.Anna Macdonald, investment strategy director at Hargreaves Lansdown, said airlines had been hit hard in the early stages of the Iran war. But recent share price action suggests investors now anticipate further deals ahead. Macdonald flagged Jet2 as a potential target for private equity interest, highlighting its "similar dynamics" to EasyJet as a low-cost carrier.Stock Chart IconStock chart iconJet2."Jet2, for example, was trading on a price-to-equity ratio of 6-7 times. It's now gone up about 60% since that low," Macdonald told CNBC's "Squawk Box Europe" Friday. "We might see private equity start to look at that."Jet2's shares rose 0.5% in afternoon trade Friday.Macdonald noted that U.K. equity valuations have not kept pace with global peers, making the London market "fertile hunting ground" for investors, including private equity buyers. But she said private buyouts of international flag carriers are a trickier call than the budget airline space, adding that the upside potential...