Porter could consider IPO in the ‘mid-term’: CEO
Bloomberg
January 28, 2024
The president and CEO of Porter Airlines said his company is fully financed for now, but could consider an initial public offering (IPO) as it grows.
In an interview with BNN Bloomberg, Michael Deluce said an IPO is a “potential avenue” for the airline as it looks to expand further as part of its growth strategy.
“We’re fully financed,” he told BNN Bloomberg in a television interview on Friday. “We are executing on a growth plan and so we don’t have need for public capital. Having said that, Porter is the fastest growing airline in North America by a significant margin.”
“It’s something that there’s a conversation about, but again, fully financed growth plans. It’s not a necessity today but something for the midterm,” he added.
Porter is in the process of adding 100 Embraer E195-E2 aircraft into its fleet. It added 29 in 2023 and expects to add another 21 in 2024.
The addition has allowed the airline to add several domestic and international destinations to its network, including Vancouver, Los Angeles, and Tampa Bay.
“We’ve seen very, very strong demand and support within the leasing community to complete sale lease facts on all of our original deliveries,” Deluce said.
“As we move forward, we’ll look at a mix of debt financing and cash purchasing of aircraft, but there is significant capital consumption over the next few years as we deploy these aircraft.”
Earlier this month, Deluce told Bloomberg News that a Porter IPO could be in the “in the two to five-year range.”
“I don’t think it’s a next year, or this year, type item,” he said at the time.
The airline planned an IPO for May 2010 in a bid to raise $120 million, but ultimately decided against it following a downturn in the stock market.
With files from Bloomberg News
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