Japan Airlines (JAL) is seeking to raise as much as ¥168 billion ($1.6 billion) by selling new shares together with a secondary offering of shares.
In a statement the airline said that in order to survive the challenges due to the prolonged impact of the spread of COVID-19, the airline needs to “maintain and expand” its ability to respond to capital needs “without delay” to improve its financial structure as soon as possible. “The JAL Group has decided to issue new shares in order to secure the necessary scale of funds to realize its strategic goals, while improving its financial structure at an early stage.”
The net proceeds from the issuance of new shares will “restructure the JAL Group’s business structure in the post-COVID-19 era, enhance safety and security, accelerate initiatives for social issues and rebuild its financial structure by reducing interest-bearing liabilities”.