Dar es Salaam:
Tanzania’s stock market regulator has given Precision Air, the
country’s biggest airline, approval for an initial public offering to
expand its fleet and fund expansion through new routes.
“We have approved Precision Air’s IPO…They have submitted the final
documentation requested by us so they can now proceed with the initial
public offer based on their own timetable,” Tanzania’s Capital Markets
and Securities Authority (CMSA) chief executive Fratern Mboya told
Reuters.
Precision Air, 49 percent-owned by Kenya Airways, plans to sell a
third of its shares in the IPO.
Orbit Securities is the lead adviser and sponsoring broker for the
IPO. “We are now making final touches, we should be able to complete
the necessary preparations within two to three weeks,” Orbit chief
executive Laurean Malauri said. Malauri added that the Precision Air
IPO should be open to the market by early October.
The Dar es Salaam Stock Exchange has also approved the IPO. “It is up
to the issuers, their advisors and the CMSA to finalise things,” DSE
chief executive Gabriel Kitua told Reuters. “We understand they are
very busy finalising small details, there is a lot of documentation
involved.”
“Precision Air will bring in new investors and will propel the growth
of Tanzania’s aviation industry,” Kitua said.
The airline last year sought regulatory approval for the sale of the
shares, which will result in Kenya Airways cutting its stake to 34
percent.
Precision’s chairman, Michael Shirima, started the company in 1993,
offering charter services with a five-seat Piper Aztec aircraft. The
firm operates an ATR 72-500 and ATR 42 planes and a Boeing 737 to 13
destinations in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda.
Precision said in late 2009 it planned to invest about US$300 million
within three years to expand its fleet