CORPORATE regulator Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has given the Gokongwei-led Cebu Air Inc. the go signal to sell shares in an initial public offering next year.

In an en banc meeting late Wednesday, the commission authorized Cebu Air’s sale of up to 72.025 million new shares and as much as 63.43 million secondary shares held by existing shareholders. There will also be an overallotment option of up to 20.318 million shares.

All in all, Cebu Air, operator of the country’s second-largest airline Cebu Pacific, will be selling 155.77 million shares, of which up to 94.819 million shares will be offered to international investors and the balance of 40.636 million to domestic buyers.

The company is looking at an offer price of up to P95 each for the shares. At this price, Cebu Air is expected to gain P6.84 billion from the sale of primary shares while the selling shareholders will make P6.025 billion.

In a filing with the SEC, Cebu Air said the primary proceeds will be used to fund capital expenditure for 2008, including aircraft-related payments, predelivery payment of aircraft and spare-engine purchases, and working capital and other general corporate purposes.

The offer period for the share sale is from January 29 to February 4, and listing of shares will be on February 8.

Cebu Air has commissioned UBS Investment Bank to sell shares in the international market as lead manager, and ING Bank N.V and First Metro Investment Corp. will sell shares in the Philippines.

The company is among the top profit-making units of JG Summit Holdings. From January to September this year, its revenues amounted to P12.17 billion, while net income was P2.53 billion.

Cebu Air, the country’s budget carrier, entered the market on March 1996 and pioneered the “low-fare, great-value” approach in the local aviation industry.

It launched international operations on November 2001 and now flies to Bangkok, Hong Kong, Korea, Jakarta, Kuala Lumpur, Singapore, Incheon, Pusan, Taipei, Shanghai, Xiamen, Guangzhou and Macau.

Cebu Air operates a fleet of 15 Airbus A319 and A320 aircraft, the youngest in the Philippines with a fleet age of one year. With the completion of its refleeting, Cebu Air has doubled its capacity.

CORPORATE regulator Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has given the Gokongwei-led Cebu Air Inc. the go signal to sell shares in an initial public offering next year.

PCTA scores Smart, GV partnership  

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PHILIPPINE stocks Thursday rose for the sixth day, climbing the most in two months, after US productivity and labor data suggested a recession may be averted in the Southeast Asian nation’s biggest market for goods and labor.

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