Jet Airways IPO oversubscribed

Our Corporate Bureau
19 February 2005

Mumbai: Jet Airways (India) Ltd.''s $375-million IPO was fully sold within minutes of opening on Friday.

The IPO for 17.27 million shares, or 20 per cent of the expanded equity, was subscribed 1.5 times in 10 minutes at the upper end of the offered range of Rs950 to Rs1,125.

At the top end, Jet would be valued at about Rs97 billion ($2.2 billion), and it expected to raise between Rs16.4 billion and Rs19.4 billion ($375 million-$444 million) in the offering.

"Buoyant economic growth, increasing leisure travel and changing demographics and habits are propelling fast growth in domestic air travel," CLSA Emerging Markets said in a report released this week.

"Jet is best positioned to exploit the opportunities given its high service standards, brand equity and track record," it added.

Founded by London-based Naresh Goyal, a former travel agent, the company has grown rapidly since it began operations in 1993 and overtook state-owned Indian Airlines, which for decades was a monopoly provider of domestic air services.