Abra says IPO plans remain in place despite market volatility

Abra, the Latin American airline group, still plans to list publicly, but its chief executive says conditions are not right yet. Speaking at the World Aviation Festival in Lisbon on 14 October, Adrian Neuhauser said an IPO will happen and that the company is structurally prepared. Market volatility is the obstacle.

Neuhauser said high fuel price swings, volatile interest rates and wider tension in the markets make this a difficult moment for a new listing. Abra has to wait for conditions to settle. "There is definitely going to be an IPO, the question is when," he said. The group was ready to go at the start of the year, only for circumstances to intervene.

Abra is the holding company for Colombian carrier Avianca and Brazil's Gol, and in August it agreed a share exchange with Chile's Sky Airline. Last December it submitted a draft registration statement to the US Securities and Exchange Commission.

Existing stocks are performing well, Neuhauser said, which makes it harder for new names to come to market. He pointed to recent difficulties in a planned listing by Australian technology firm Firmus. He also said there is never a perfect moment to go public, while describing the current period as feeling like the right one.

Asked about a timetable, he said he had no way to predict it and that Abra stays ready.