Go Airlines seeks regulator approval for $490mIndia IPO

Go Airlines India, a no-frills carrier controlled by the Wadia Group, has sought approval from India’s markets regulator to raise as much as 36b rupees ($490m) through an initial public offering. The company may consider a pre-IPO share issue of as much as 15 billion rupees, the airline said in its prospectus Friday, adding the IPO size will be cut if the pre-IPO placement happens. Go Airlines, the second biggest customer for Airbus, is planning to use the proceeds for repayment of debt, and dues to Indian Oil Corp. ICICI Securities Ltd., Citi and Morgan Stanley will manage the IPO. GoAir has rebranded itself as Go First, the airline said in a statement Thursday. Go Airlines’s decision to seek to raise funds comes at a time when an overwhelming surge in coronavirus infections in India has hit the country’s air travel industry, which had just begun recovering, particularly in domestic routes. <br/>