Israir heads for IPO as owner completes acquisition
Israir (6H, Tel Aviv Ben Gurion) will commence trading on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange once its controlling shareholder, BGI Investments, takes full ownership of the airline, the parent company outlined in a series of disclosures. It has also refinanced a loan it obtained to update its fleet.
BGI, owned by supermarket tycoon Rami Levy and business partner Shalom Haim via their vehicle Shay Odem, bought a 51% stake in the airline for ILS162 million shekels (USD52 million) one year ago. BGI will now change its name to Israir and look to raise ILS80 million (USD26 million) in a initial public offering (IPO) that values the company at between ILS350 million and ILS400 million (USD113-129 million).
BGI has exercised a call option to buy the remaining 49% in the Israeli leisure carrier from IDB Development bondholders (25%) and from Levy himself (24%), it said in a December 30 disclosure to the stock exchange. The name change will be voted on at a special general meeting of shareholders at the beginning of February.
Earlier in December, BGI raised ILS36 million (USD11.6 million) in a rights issue, ILS31 million (USD10 million) of which emanated from Shay Odem, completing the first step towards the IPO.
Israir also revealed, in a separate filing on January 2, that it had renegotiated a ILS40 million (USD13 million) loan from Bank Leumi taken in early 2019 to help finance a fleet renewal plan. Under the new terms, the unpaid amount, now amounting to USD14.5 million, which was supposed to be repaid in one installment in April 2023, will now be spread over four years so that it will be repaid in full by April 2027.
At the time, Israir was in talks with Airbus over a proposed purchase of four A220-300s. In January 2021, following the BGI deal, the carrier again announced it was planning to transition to an all-A220 fleet.
According to the ch-aviation fleets ownership module, Israir currently operates five A320-200s and three ATR72-500s while also wet-leasing in B737 capacity from Smartwings (Czechia) which it had planned to deploy during the current winter 2021/22 season.