Greek carrier Aegean Airlines has floated a quarter of its stock on the Athens Stock Exchange in an initial public offering that has generated proceeds of around €125 million ($172.2 million).
Aegean in July became the first airline to float on the Athens exchange when it listed 17.85 million shares at an offer price of €7.60 per share - the high end of its original price range.
The carrier says it will use the proceeds generated by the IPO to finance a portion of its €1 billion fleet renewal programme, under which it is replacing its entire Boeing 737 fleet with up to 23 Airbus A320s.
Aegean, whose private owners include Greece's Vassilakis and Laskaridis Groups, launched scheduled passenger services in 1999. The carrier, which has been using its newly-delivered A320s to expand its international operations, saw its passenger numbers increase by 11% to 4.45 million in 2006.
Source: Airline Business
