Moscow
Russia’s biggest airline, Aeroflot, plans to raise at least 80 billion roubles ($1.02 billion) in a secondary public offering in Moscow.
State-controlled Aeroflot has been hit by the new coronavirus outbreak this year which grounded most passenger planes around the world.
However, its chief executive, Vitaly Saveliev, said in a statement that it believes in the long-term structural growth of the Russian passenger aviation market.
“The additional equity capital raised via this offering will put the Aeroflot Group on a firm footing as we continue our recovery from the impact of Covid-19 and build for the future,” Saveliev said.
Institutional investors are expected to buy Aeroflot’s new shares for up to 39 billion roubles, while the rest will come from existing shareholders, including the Russian government, which aims to maintain its stake in the airline at the current 51.2 percent, Aeroflot said.—Arab News
