EasyJet said to plan $1.4 billion stock sale for travel rebound

EasyJet Plc plans to raise more than 1 billion pounds ($1.4 billion) from a share sale, as the U.K. airline prepares to compete for customers amid the tentative return of leisure travel, people familiar with the matter said. 

The London-listed carrier could announce plans to raise fresh funding from selling equity as well as debt as soon as this week, the people said, asking not to be identified discussing confidential information. 

No final decisions have been made and the size, structure and timing of any transaction will depend on investor appetite and market conditions, the people said. A representative for EasyJet declined to comment.

EasyJet has raised more than 5.5 billion pounds in liquidity since the start of the pandemic as coronavirus shutdowns brought the global airline industry to its knees. The airline will “will continue to review its liquidity position on a regular basis and, as part of the capital structure review, assess all further funding opportunities,” it said in its quarterly earnings note in July.

The company’s shares have risen 32% in the last 12 months, giving it a market value of 3.6 billion pounds. 

Carriers are bracing to compete for market share over the slower winter months, with any surge in Covid-19 cases also having the potential to spook travelers or trigger fresh restrictions. This will prove an early challenge for Stephen Hester, the former chief executive officer of RSA Insurance Group Plc, who became a non-executive director at EasyJet this month and will take over as its chairman on Dec. 1.

Dublin-based Ryanair Holdings Plc, Europe’s biggest discount carrier, said in August it will operate 250 new routes across its network this winter, seeking to capitalize on demand from people who missed out on a summer break. Wizz Air Holdings Plc, another London-listed rival, has already restored 100% of pre-pandemic seating.

European carriers have been offering rock-bottom prices to secure bookings, squeezing margins, and have so far been slower to bounce back from the worst of the pandemic. They posted a $4.6 billion loss in the second quarter, virtually unchanged from the first, according to figures from the International Air Transport Association. Their North American peers,