Easyjet are going to nead a lot of money over the next few years - new routes, new aircraft, training etc etc. Some of this was going to be paid for out of expected profits. These profits are now going to be less than expected. This is where the banks come in, because Easy will need to borrow/obtain guarantees etc. The city and the banks won't let Easy borrow more than a certain proportion of the 'value' of the company. If the shares are low, then the value of the company is low - less can be borrowed. A few hundred million in the bank is virtually meaningless. Take BA. BA a few years ago had £1 billion in the bank, and the city marked the shares at less than £1 each (a third of what they are now). BAs problem was £5 billion of outstanding loans, a £1 billion pension defict, no profits being made, and a dodgey future with war in Iraq etc. Things are looking up now - they make a profit and have only £4 billion debts, having sold off buildings etc. Cash in the bank is a small but important part of the equation. I have quite a large bank balance, but unfortunately I have a huge mortgage and it is possible that house prices might drop soon. Want to buy into my family?
If Easyjet were doing as well as some would like us to believe, the share price would be high, profits would be good and Stelious would not be selling blocks of shares whenever he can.