Middle East Airlines has six banks interested in IPO

Middle East Airlines (MEA) announced Central Bank Governor, Riad Salameh, stated six banks had expressed interest in managing a partial initial public offering (IPO) in the airline (Gulf News, 21-Apr-2010). The airline expects to announce a manager for a 25% stake in the carrier by Jun-2010, following a meeting of the Board of Directors and Central Bank. MEA is valued at USD1 billion and a stake sale is expected to raise up to USD250 million in 2010. No single investor is permitted to own more than 1% of shares, which will be listed on Lebanon's stock exchange.

Central Bank: "At least one regional investment bank, two international investment banks, and three local banks have expressed an interest to manage this IPO. Unless there is an extraordinary event happening, whether in the financial markets or related to security, we want to do this deal. It's in the interest of the country to have a Central Bank that remains independent and not be dragged into non-core issues," Riad Salameh, Governor. Source: Gulf News, 21-Apr-2010.