Jet Airways looks set to make a February entrance into the capital markets in an IPO worth around $500 million.
The Indian airline operater has filed a draft prospectus with the Securities and Exchanges Board of India (SEBI) and will be hoping to emulate the strong performances seen from Indian companies in 2004, notably Infosys and Tata Consultancy Services. Tail Winds, the owner of Jet Airways, will reduce its stake in the airline to around 80% and so release capital for the air operator to take advantage of newly-opened routes to south-east Asia and Europe.
The capital raising exercise does not come as a complete surprise, however, given an announcement in December 2004 that Jet Airways will be expanding its fleet in response to increased passenger demand. Jet boasts 43% of India's domestic airline market.