Australia’s Alliance Airlines raises $83.6mn for new jets

Alliance Airlines (QQ, Brisbane Int’l) has announced it has successfully raised AUD91.9 million Australian dollars (USD63 million) in fresh capital which will be channelled almost entirely towards the acquisition of new aircraft. The Australian carrier said in a stock market filing that its institutional placement of new fully paid-up ordinary shares was fully subscribed by existing and new investors. The new placement amounts to 24.4% of Alliance’s existing issued share capital. The airline is in the process of raising another AUD30 million (USD20.6 million) through a non-underwritten share purchase plan aimed at existing shareholders. The purchase will start on June 19 and is expected to end by July 9, 2020. In an earlier investor update, the carrier said that the pandemic provided a growth opportunity for Alliance Airlines given its reliance on the booming charter market. “Alliance’s recent performance has been outstanding and allows us to be uniquely positioned to look to expand through a number of growth initiatives. Importantly, this capital raising will give us the ability to invest in these initiatives whilst maintaining our strong balance sheet,” Managing Director Scott McMillan said.