Philippines-based budget carrier Cebu Air Inc has been given approval to conduct an initial public offering for its Cebu Pacific airline, worth as much as P25.7 billion (US$5 billion). The planned offering consists of about 235.6 million shares with an indicative price of P95 per share for a total size of P22.38 million.

Should the demand for their share be strong, Cebu Pacific has an option to upsize its IPO by another 35.33 million shares worth an additional P3.35 billion. The company is targeting for a listing on the Philippine Stock Exchange by 4 May of this year.

While the Securities and Exchange Commission has given the green light for the carrier’s listing on the Philippine Stock Exchange, the carrier has decided to delay the share sale until after the 10 May national elections.

The company will use the additional funds for its fleet expansion programme with about P9.12 billion of the proceeds used to fund the pre-delivery of additional Airbus A320 aircraft to be delivered from 2010-2013. The carrier plans to expand its fleet from 29 aircraft currently to 47 by 2014. Proceeds from the sale of secondary shares will go to the controlling Gokongwei group.

Cebu Air is the country’s largest domestic airline by passengers carried with a market share of 48.7 per cent. The carrier, which recently began promoting a cargo product, has plans to expand its international network, further penetrating the three North Asian markets of China, Japan and South Korea.