Cebu Pacific receives approval for IPO

Cebu Pacific received approval from the Philippines' Securities and Exchange Commission for the launch of its IPO, which will offer 235 million common shares at up to PHP95 per share (abs-cbnNEWS.com, 19-Mar-2010). 164.9 million of the shares will be offered to international investors, while the remainder will be offered to local investors. A further 35.3 million shares will be earmarked for overallotment. The carrier appointed JP Morgan Securities and Deutsche Bank as the offering's lead managers, while ATR KimEng has been appointed the domestic underwriter. Funds raised from the offering will be used to support new aircraft purchases. Cebu Pacific plans to invest PHP9.1 billion over the next four years to increase its fleet from 29 to 47 aircraft.