Flynas to Offer 37.1% shares Through its IPO on Tadawul

Saudi Arabia’s low cost carrier Flynas is planning to offer 37.1% of its shares through an Initial Public Offering (IPO) on the Saudi Market Tadawul, Talal Ibrahim Al-Maiman, Vice Chairman of Kingdom Holding Co. (KHC), which owns the airline, said.

In an interview with Arabic news channel Al Arabiya at the ongoing World Economic Forum (WEF) held in Davos in Switzerland, he said that the company has divested around $1.6 billion in investments to cut loans and debt costs in 2023, exiting some Saudi properties.

He added the company’s focus for the current year is investing in Saudi Arabia, including a $590 million tourist resort project with the Red Sea International Co. The residential and office real estate sectors in Riyadh are lucrative, given the capital’s expansions and rising appeal, he added.

It may be recalled that the airline has hired Goldman Sachs Group, Morgan Stanley and Saudi Fransi Capital for its planned IPO this year, Bloomberg reported last month.

Earlier reports had suggested that Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund — Public Investment Fund (PIF) had been in talks to enhance its present stake of 17% in Flynas. 

The airline has an ambitious expansion plan under the objective of connecting the world to the Kingdom, and in parallel with the objectives of Saudi Arabia’s National Civil Aviation Strategy to increase the number of international destinations linked to the Kingdom to 250.

Flynas, formerly nasair (Saudi Arabia), has been considering going public since 2008, with the process advancing in 2016. It hired Morgan Stanley to advise on the share sale in late 2017 and then recruited Citigroup and NCB Capital for the planned offering in early 2018, Bloomberg report added.

Record Results

Flynas reported record results for 2023, with passenger numbers rising by more than 28% over the previous year to more than 11.1 million.

The low-cost carrier also took delivery of 19 new aircraft during the year, increasing its fleet size to 64, a rise of more than 35%. It also aims to sign orders to purchase up to 250 new aircraft during the year 2024.

The airline has moving forward with a strategic plan for growth and expansion under the slogan We Connect the World to the Kingdom. The carrier launched 57 new destinations and routes to 10 countries during the year, opened its fourth operations base at Prince Mohammed bin Abdulaziz International Airport in Madinah, and increased seat capacity by 22% for domestic and international flights.

In 2023, Flynas was also named best low-cost airline in the Middle East by the World Travel Awards for the ninth consecutive year.