Air Berlin Eyes IPO Before World Cup

[White Cap]

Source: Reuters

Air Berlin Eyes IPO Before World Cup
April 11, 2006

German carrier Air Berlin wants to push through a share listing before the World Cup starts in June as it prepares to step up its battle for a bigger piece of the European low-cost market against larger rivals Ryanair and easyJet.

The airline revealed it had a 2005 net loss of EUR115.9 million (USD$140.4 million), up from EUR2.9 million (USD$3.5 million) in 2004, but blamed the losses on one-time effects and fuel costs as it seeks to persuade investors to help fund its expansion plans.

"We have earned the number three position and we would like at least to hold onto it," Chief Executive Joachim Hunold told journalists late on Monday in comments embargoed until Tuesday.

Air Berlin is locked in a fierce battle for customers in a crowded but growing German budget market in which competitors also include TUI's HLX unit and Germanwings. It also competes with Lufthansa and Condor.

Air Berlin, which has a fleet of 56 short-haul aircraft, mainly operates direct flights from airports across Germany to Mediterranean destinations including mainland Spain, the Balearic Islands, Greece, Turkey and North Africa.

It wants to use proceeds from the share sale to expand mainly in the Scandinavian and eastern European markets, as well as growing in Spain and northern UK.

Hunold did not say directly when the IPO would come but, asked about the date, made a joke about German World Cup goalkeepers, apparently suggesting the flotation would come before the tournament, which begins on June 9. He did not rule out listing more than 50 percent of the company.

A source familiar with the matter said that Air Berlin was aiming to list in May to take advantage of a favorable climate for stock market debuts in Germany.

Hunold said he would hold onto his 5 percent stake in Air Berlin, while the remaining six existing shareholders would all sell part but not all of their stakes.

"I will not sell any shares," said Hunold.

Air Berlin said it did not need to wait to post a net profit before listing and blamed the 2005 loss on one-time effects totalling about EUR100 million (USD$121.1 million) from the revaluation of dollar-denominated debt and deferred taxes as it changes its accounting ahead of its IPO.

Air Berlin had 13.5 million passengers in 2005, up 12.5 percent from the previous year. This puts it a distant third behind Irish low-cost carrier Ryanair with 33.4 million and UK-based budget airline easyJet with 30.3 million.

(Reuters)

[heinz-w]

If only I knew what "IPO" means.

Aha. Now I know:

Die neu-deutsche Kurzformel IPO stammt - wie sollte es anders sein - aus dem Englischen und steht für "Initial Public Offering", was so viel bedeutet wie "erstmaliges öffentliches Angebot". Das "Angebot" bezieht sich auf Aktien eines Unternehmens, das zum ersten mal einer breiten Öffentlichkeit die Gelegenheit gibt sich an der Gesellschaft zu beteiligen.