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Royal Jordanian IPO sees strong investor interest

AMMAN — Royal Jordanian's (RJ) initial public offering has been oversubscribed, with total offers reaching $232 million from a wide range of Jordanian, Arab and foreign investors, the firm said yesterday.

Trading in the airline's shares will begin on Dec 17.

The government is selling up to 59.9 million shares — equivalent to 71 per cent of its stock at an offer price of 3.08 dinar per share. It set a price band of between 2.75 and 3.40 dinars per offer share. Company officials said the IPO, which was launched on November 19, drew wide interest from both Jordanian and the Arab Gulf investors.

The government, which is being advised by Citigroup , initially sought a mainly private placement of a majority stake in the national airline with 49 per cent open for foreign investors.

The government will retain a 26 per cent stake under its accelerated privatisation scheme for RJ, part of a broader plan to sell sizeable state assets.

But the option for a private placement was abandoned in favour of an IPO that would offer its shares to both Jordanian nationals and foreign institutional investors.

Foreign investors can buy up to 49 per cent of the airline with the rest kept in private Jordanian hands to ensure the carrier maintains its right to fly under bilateral accords.

RJ forecast transporting a total of 2.3 million passengers in 2007 against 2 million in 2006.

The airline's strategy was to create Amman as a regional hub for the Levant region by expanding its regional network and tap booming air passenger demand in the Middle East.