Virgin America confirms IPO plans as it seeks $1 billion valuation on NASDAQ
Virgin America, the low-cost airline partly owned by Sir Richard Branson, has announced plans to go public on the NASDAQ stock exchange in New York.
The airline plans to raise as much as $320 million by selling 13.3 million shares to be priced at $21-$24 apiece, according to a SEC filing on Monday. That would value Virgin America at $1 billion at the top end of the range.
Branson owns a 22 per cent stake through Virgin Group. The rest is owned by VAI Partners, which holds a 76.1 per cent stake in the company.
Virgin America operates in 22 cities in the United States and Mexico, focusing mainly in the area of Los Angeles and San Francisco, using a fleet of Airbus jets. It recently launched a new service departing from New York's La Guardia airport.
The airline posted net income of $56.2 million in the nine months through September, compared with a loss of $4 million a year earlier, the filing showed. Barclays and Deutsche Bank are the lead underwriters in the IPO.
Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this article
Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies