(Reuters) – Avianca Group plans to confidentially file for an initial public offering in the United States, the holding company for the Colombian airline said on Monday.
The airline is moving ahead with its listing more than two years after it emerged from bankruptcy.
Bogota-based Avianca was one of the major Latin American airlines that filed for bankruptcy during the pandemic, hurt by a downturn in travel demand.
The airline, which had filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in May 2020 after it failed to meet a bond payment deadline, exited bankruptcy proceedings in December 2021.
The timing and execution of the offering are subject to market conditions, the airline said.
Avianca’s total operating revenue came in at $1.27 billion in the first quarter, up from $1.09 billion a year earlier.
The airline also swung to a profit of $13 million in the same period, compared to a loss of $12 million in 2022.
Avianca’s fleet comprised of 128 Airbus 320 family aircraft and 13 Boeing 787s as of March end.
The company is the latest Latin American airline seeking to tap into the deeper capital and richer valuations that the U.S. markets offer.
Earlier this year, Mexico City-based Aeroméxico also filed its paperwork to go public in New York as it eyes a return to stock markets.
Chile’s LATAM Airlines is also working on re-listing its shares on the New York Stock Exchange.
(Reporting by Arasu Kannagi Basil in Bengaluru; Editing by Alan Barona)
