Japan Airlines to relist shares
Saturday, January 7, 2012
Japan Airlines (JAL) is planning on relisting its shares in an IPO on the Tokyo Stock Exchange. By September, JAL shareholders intend to sell between ¥500 billion and ¥1 trillion (US$6.4b - US$12.8b, €5b - €10b).
If the sale goes into high-end estimates, it will make JAL the largest airline in the world by market value. It will also be the largest IPO in Japan since the 2010 listing of Dai-Ichi Life. However, Senri Sasahara, chief executive officer of Innovative Advisor Corp, said “The amount sought may be a bit too ambitious.”
JAL entered bankruptcy protection in January 2010 and was later given a government bailout. When it was delisted from TSE, it cut one-third of its workers, and reduced the benefits of remaining employees. JAL emerged from bankruptcy in March 2011. Since then, it has posted a record ¥188.4 billion (US$2.4b, €1.9b) in profit for fiscal year 2010.
JAL faces growing competition from discount airlines, such as AirAsia Japan and Peach. In response, JAL entered into a joint venture to form a low-cost carrier with JetStar Airways.
Related articles
- "Japan Airlines to file for bankruptcy" — Wikinews, January 18, 2010
Sources
- "Japan Airlines plans to relist shares in Tokyo" — BBC News Online, January 6, 2012
- Chris Cooper. "JAL Plans $13B IPO as Budget Carriers Loom" — Bloomberg, January 5, 2012