Swissport defers IPO plan

Swissport Group has announced that it will defer its plans for an Initial Public Offering (IPO) on SIX Swiss Exchange.
In a short investor announcement, the ground handler, a subsidiary of Chinese conglomerate HNA, said that it had decided to delay the listing of its shares as a result of current market conditions. It did not give any details on how long it expected the delay to be.
The company first announced its intention to launch an IPO in January. The objective of the contemplated IPO was to accelerate Swissport’s long-term growth strategy, provide additional financial flexibility and liquidity.
No time line had been set for the listing, although reports suggested it would happen during the second quarter.
In March, HNA also deferred plans to list its Gategroup subsidiary, with the Financial Times reporting that there was a big gap between its valuation of share price and the amount investors were willing to pay.
In the same article, it was suggested that the HNA Group may struggle to push ahead with its listing of Swissport because the two companies’ finances are too intertwined as a result of a series of short-term loans made by the ground handler to other HNA subsidiaries.
The company recently completed the acquisition of of Aerocare, a leading ground handler in Australia/ New Zealand.
In January, Swissport secured €325m in a financing commitment from Barclays to fund the acquisition.

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