Saudi Arabia’s Flynas aims to raise up to $1.1bn from its IPO

The low-cost carrier has set the price range for the offering between 76 riyals and 80 riyals per share

Flynas currently serves 72 domestic and international destinations. Photo: Flynas

Saudi Arabia's low-cost airline Flynas aims to raise up to 4.1 billion Saudi riyals ($1.1 billion) from its initial public offering on the Tadawul stock exchange.

Flynas, which has billionaire businessman Prince Alwaleed bin Talal as one of its main backers, is selling a 30 per cent stake, or 51.26 million shares, to investors through the public float.

The company has set the IPO price range between 76 riyals and 80 riyals a share. The total offering is expected to be between 3.9 billion riyals and 4.1 billion riyals, implying a market capitalisation at listing of between 13 billion riyals and 13.7 billion riyals, the company said in a statement on Monday.

The book building process for institutional investors, which began on Monday, will close on May 18.

The company's IPO sold out in minutes after books opened amid strong demand from investors, according to a Bloomberg report.

New shares represent 10.2 per cent of the company’s total share capital upon completion. Up to 34 per cent of the IPO’s net proceeds, resulting from the new shares, will be used by the company to finance its growth strategy and for general corporate purposes, it said.

The listing of Flynas comes amid a surge in IPOs in Saudi Arabia and growing investor demand. The kingdom led the Gulf region in terms of volumes with 15 Tadawul IPOs and 27 Nomu listings last year, according to PwC. The companies raised more than $4.3 billion from the listings.

Flynas, which began operations as Nas Air in 2007, currently serves 72 domestic and international destinations.

The budget carrier will be the first airline to be listed in the Gulf in almost two decades, after Kuwait's Jazeera Airways listed in January 2008.

The region has a handful of publicly listed carriers, including the UAE's Air Arabia and Kuwait's Jazeera Airways. Abu Dhabi-based Etihad Airways has also said that it is working to become IPO-ready but the decision lies with its shareholders.

A Flynas plane at King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh. AFP

Flynas reported a net profit of 434 million riyals last year, up from 401 million in 2023. Its revenue last year also rose by about 17 per cent to 7.5 billion riyals.

The airline carried 10.9 million passengers in the first nine months of last year, up from 7.9 million during the same period in 2023.

BSF Capital, Goldman Sachs Saudi Arabia, and Morgan Stanley Saudi Arabia have been appointed as joint-financial advisers and co-underwriters for the IPO.