Mexican carrier Interjet said it is planning to go public next year. Interjet Executive President Miguel Aleman Magnani told Bloomberg in an interview that the airline could sell a 30% stake in the US and Mexico sometime in the latter half of 2014. Operated by ABC Aerolineas, Interjet is the second biggest carrier in Mexico in terms of the number of domestic passengers. Magnani said the proceeds of the IPO would go towards plane delivers and debt payments.
Magnani said, "We're expanding. It's going to be good timing because the Mexican economy looks very positive starting next year." If Interjet proceeds with the IPO, it would make them the third publicly-traded carrier in the country. In first place is Grupo Aeromexico and Controladora Vuela Compania de Aviacion's Volaris which went public this year.
Magnani said that the market value of Interjet may be a bit more than Volaris because its profit margins are slightly higher. As of yesterday, the market capitalization of Volaris was 45% pegged at USD 1.4 billion. This is 45% higher than that of the biggest Mexican carrier Aeromexico, the Bloomberg report said. Volaris went public in September and was able to raise USD 398 million.
Bloomberg reported that Interjet's planned IPO coincides at a time when record jet orders were being placed by Mexican airlines with the increase of air passenger traffic. Citing data from the Ministry of Communications and Transportation, the report said airline passengers in the country reached 56.8 million in 2012, growing 8.3%. This was the fastest growth rate since 2007.
Magnani said Interjet has not yet hired banks for the IPO. Two years ago, the company engaged the services of Grupo Financiero Banorte and JPMorgan Chase & Co for its planned IPO but decided not to push through with share sale. Magnani said the Aleman family will only proceed with the IPO if the conditions are favorable. The family has a 95% stake in the carrier.
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