3rd Feb 2020 17:26
(Alliance News) - JP Morgan Securities PLC on Monday announced a proposed placing of as much as GBP500 million worth of Wizz Air Holdings PLC shares by investment funds managed by Indigo Partners LLC.
The shares will be offered via an accelerated bookbuild to institutional investors only.
Indigo Hungary LP and Indigo Maple Hill LP currently hold 15.0 million shares in budget airline Wizz Air, equivalent to a 21% stake. They also hold convertible shares and notes. Wizz Air shares closed down 0.6% at 4,160.00 pence in London on Monday, making all 15.0 million shares worth GBP624.0 million.
Joint bookrunners for the placing are Barclays Bank PLC, Citigroup Global Markets Ltd, Morgan Stanley & Co International PLC, and JP Morgan Securities PLC - "which conducts its UK investment banking activities as JP Morgan Cazenove".
Indigo Hungary and Indigo Maple Hill will not make any further Wizz Air shares for 90 days without joint bookrunner consent but can sell additional shares to private equity sponsors or strategic investors if the buyers follow the same lock-up terms.
Wizz Air will not receive proceeds from the placing. It noted the sale, and the fact that: "Indigo shareholders are non-qualifying nationals and therefore the placing will, at a minimum, maintain the company's current level of non-qualifying national ownership (but more likely increase qualifying national ownership, subject to allocations under the placing)."
Qualifying nationals are nationals of the European Economic Area and Switzerland.
Wizz Air plans to review the placing and reserves its right not to treat shares purchased by non-qualifying national as "restricted shares" and not to issues restricted share notices to any non-qualifying nationals who participate in the placing.
By Anna Farley; [email protected]
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