Tiger Airways Makes Attempt to Finance 50 Airbus A320s

It now seems that Singapore’s Tiger Airways is set for an initial public offering. This is all a bid to help the airline get financing for the purchase of 50 Airbus A320s. This low cost carrier, which is now 49 percent owned by Singapore Airlines, has enlisted Morgan Stanley, Citigroup and Singapore’s DBS bank, to manage the IPO. The company is planning to sell up to 51 percent of its shares.

Some sources have already quoted that Tiger Airways could raise anything between $200 million and $1 billion through the IPO. One source said that existing investors will stay invested. However, it was unclear if shareholders would subscribe to the offer.

Of course, there are a few other companies that own stacks in Tiger Airways. Right now Singapore state investor Temasek currently holds 11 percent of the stakes in the company. Also, RyanAsia, which is a company that is controlled by Ryanair, also owns 16 percent of the stakes in the carrier. The remaining stakes in the company are currently owned by Indigo Partners LLC.

The news of the IPO plan follows just after news on the disclosure that Tiger Airawys rival, Malaysian Air Asia, which is southeast Asia’s largest low cost carrier, could be seeking a secondary listing on the Bangkok stock exchange. The founder of Malaysian Air Asia, Tony Fernandes, said just recently that discussions could eventually lead to a merger between Air Asia and its Thai and Indonesian affiliates. This would create a single stock listed on three exchanges. More information about Tiger Airways and its IPO will be sure to surface later on this week.