Thursday, July 9, 2009

AirAsia up on plan to sell shares to one fund

07 July 2009

AirAsia Bhd, Southeast Asia’s largest low-cost airline, rose for the first time in three days in Kuala Lumpur trading after saying it may sell all of a planned new share issue to a single investor

The stock added 1.8 per cent to RM1.12 at 9:04am.

AirAsia, which is planning to issue as much as 20 per cent more stock, is considering selling the stake to a single institutional fund or a strategic investor as part of a plan to reduce debt, chief executive officer Datuk Seri Tony Fernandes said in an interview late yesterday.

A strategic investor might be a private equity firm or a partner in the tourism industry, said Fernandes. He said he plans to meet potential buyers this month and the share sale should be completed in early August.

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