Blue Air, a Romanian budget airline, is planning a float on London’s AIM market later this year which could see it reach a valuation of up to half a billion pounds.
The Bucharest-based airline is planning to list through a reverse takeover of cash shell Ridgecrest PLC (LON:RDGC), whose shares were suspended on Monday morning after agreeing to the deal with Blue Air’s parent Airline Invest SA.
READ: Ryanair and Wizz Air passenger numbers bounce back in June
Blue Air is aiming to raise up to €250mln (£214mln) through the listing, according to the Times, which will then be used to expand its existing fleet of 15 aircraft to around 50 over the next five years, all of which will be Boeing Co’s (NYSE:BA) 737 MAX planes, which despite their controversial history have been touted as highly fuel-efficient.
While it has bases in Bucharest and the Italian city of Turin, Blue Air has managed to pick up slots at London Heathrow, Paris Charles de Gaulle, Amsterdam Schiphol and Frankfurt during the pandemic, which caused havoc in the airline industry and led to the collapse of some weaker competitors.
The company may be aiming to replicate the success of fellow Easter European carrier Wizz Air Holdings PLC (LON:WIZZ), which is currently the fastest-growing airline in the continent and is seen by many as a key challenger to Irish budget behemoth Ryanair Holdings PLC (LON:RYA).
Blue Air may also be looking to time its debut on the public markets in line with an expected rebound in air travel as pandemic travel restrictions are eased, particularly with the UK government recently announcing that double-vaccinated passengers returning from countries on its ‘Amber’ list will not need to quarantine for 10 days.
Signs of an uptick in passenger numbers were already being noted by the airlines last month, with both Ryanair and Wizz Air reporting massive jumps in customers in June.
Shares in Ryanair were down 3.1% at €15.74 in mid-morning trading on Monday, while Wizz Air descended 3.4% to 4,588p.