JAPAN AIR SEEKS $8.4 BILLION IN BIGGEST IPO SINCE FACEBOOK

Photographer: Tomohiro Ohsumi/Bloomberg

Japan Airlines Co. will seek as much as 663 billion yen ($8.4 billion) in the largest initial public offering since Facebook Inc. (FB), capping a state-backed turnaround since it filed for bankruptcy protection in 2010.

Shares will be on offer at a price range of 3,500 yen to 3,790 yen, according to a statement today. That’s in line with the indicative price of 3,790 yen announced earlier this month. The carrier won’t get any of the sale proceeds as the 175 million shares are being sold by its government-backed parent.

JAL will be priced at about five times forecast earnings, compared with 16 times for All Nippon Airways Co. (9202), Japan’s largest carrier. The company is returning to the Tokyo stock exchange after shedding a third of its workforce, scrapping routes and retiring older planes in a restructuring that returned it to profit.

“JAL is attractive compared with ANA,” said Mitsushige Akino, who oversees the equivalent of about $600 million in assets in Tokyo at Ichiyoshi Investment Management Co. “It’s come out of a turnaround and slashed debts, so it’s in a good position.”

The final price for the IPO, Japan’s second-biggest in more than a decade, will be set on Sept. 10, according to the earlier statement. The shares will begin trading Sept. 19. JAL will surpass ANA as Japan’s biggest carrier by market value and as the fourth largest worldwide behind Latam Airlines Group SA, Singapore Airlines Ltd. and Air China Ltd.

30/08/2012  :  Chris Cooper,Kiyotaka Matsuda / Bloomberg Business Week.

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