Japan Airlines plans to relist its shares on the Tokyo Stock Exchange as the next step in its recovery from bankruptcy.
The carrier is reported to be considering selling at least 500 billion yen (£4.2 billion) of shares as early as September. The size of the initial public offering will likely be bigger than 500 billion yen in view of the recent improvement in the carrier’s profit base.
But the timing of the relisting will depend on market conditions, especially the European debt crisis, a source said. JAL filed for bankruptcy protection in January 2010 with more than £16 billion of debt and was granted a government-backed bailout.
Should the sale go ahead, it would turn the carrier into one of the world’s biggest listed airlines. A JAL spokesman declined to comment on the size of the share sale, but said that Nomura and Daiwa Securities had been hired to lead the listing.