ISTANBUL: Shares in Turkish low-cost carrier Pegasus Airlines rose on their stock market debut on Friday, valuing it at more than $1 billion in a listing closely watched by peers also considering flotations.
The shares were trading at 18.9 lira by 0705 GMT, valuing the airline at 1.93 billion lira ($1.07 billion).
The flotation of a 34.5 percent stake had been priced at 18.4 lira per share. The airline said in March the offer, managed by Barclays and Is Investment, would help fund its expansion.
"They are taking advantage of the rapid growth in the Turkish middle class who have realised that air travel is no longer a luxury, it is now a commodity," said Julian Macedo, head of CEEMENA Equity Capital Markets at Barclays.
The listing price was equivalent to around 6.3 times 2013 operating earnings (adjusted EV/EBITDAR), a discount to the 8.1 average multiple of low-cost carriers EasyJet and Ryanair, a source familiar with the deal said.
The spread of investors was very wide, with around half from the United Kingdom, 35 percent from the United States and 15 percent from continental Europe, the source said.
The budget airline signed the second-biggest aircraft deal in Turkish aviation history last December, ordering 100 Airbus aircraft with a list price of $7.5 billion.
Founded in 1990, and bought by Esas Holding in 2005, Pegasus has increased its fleet from just two aircraft to more than 40 mostly Boeing 737-800s over the past two decades. (Reuters)
