Colombian airline Avianca plans to confidentially file for US IPO

(Reuters) -Avianca Group plans to confidentially file for an initial public offering in the United States, the holding company for the Colombian airline said on Monday.

The Bogota-based airline, with over 100 years of operation since 1919, is moving ahead with its listing more than two years after it emerged from bankruptcy.

Avianca - which serves domestic markets of Colombia, Ecuador and Central America - was one of the major Latin American airlines that filed for bankruptcy during the pandemic, hurt by a downturn in travel demand.

The airline, which had filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in May 2020 after it failed to meet a bond payment deadline, exited bankruptcy proceedings in December 2021.

In May 2022, Avianca and Brazilian carrier Gol struck an agreement to combine under a single leadership named Abra Group.

The timing and execution of the IPO are subject to market conditions, Avianca said.

Avianca, which is the second-oldest airline in the world currently in operation, swung to a profit of $13 million in the first quarter, as it transported 9.3 million passengers, a 37.5% jump compared to a year earlier.

The airline booked total operating revenue of $1.27 billion during the same period, up from $1.09 billion a year earlier.

Avianca's fleet comprises of 147 Airbus 320 and Boeing 787s Dreamliner aircraft as of late June.

The airline also serves 150 routes connecting to more than 76 destinations in 26 countries across the Americas and Europe.

Avianca is the latest Latin American airline seeking to tap into the deeper capital and richer valuations that the U.S. markets offer.

Earlier this year, Mexico City-based Aeroméxico also filed its paperwork to go public in New York as it eyes a return to stock markets.

Chile's LATAM Airlines is also working on re-listing its shares on the New York Stock Exchange.

(Reporting by Arasu Kannagi Basil in Bengaluru; Editing by Alan Barona)